


Perfect Storm

by kwueenie



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 43,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24948955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwueenie/pseuds/kwueenie
Summary: It gets personal, when someone wants Higgins and later the PI, too. Magnum and friends investigates and protect their own, no matter the cost. Mentions characters from H5-0.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

It was a bark that woke him up at the ungodly hour of three AM. Magnum was wide awake, even before the echo of the sound had faded and sat up straight. Barking wasn’t exactly unusual at Robin’s Nest, but in the middle of the night, it was a little less normal.

Higgins called Zeus and Apollo for guard dogs and had trained them so, to the extent that Magnum sometimes feared the two beasts. That, and the fact that it was only a single bark, made him even more wary as he padded barefooted to the door. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t going to be dog food, before finding his way to the main house, if necessary.

As he opened the door, he heard the muffled sounds of a thump and a grunt of pain. Doubt had vanished, as he rushed back to his room to pull on some old board shorts, a dark t-shirt and grab his gun.

Guided by the moonlight, he silently rushed towards the origin of the abnormal sounds, and trained his weapon on the upcoming corner as he looped around the front of the mansion. He glanced at the dimly lit driveway and saw an unknown white panel van backed up to the front entrance, back doors opened, engine humming.

He briefly wondered how it had gotten through the gate, seemingly unnoticed by the majordomo. He paused when he saw the two dogs slumped on the ground next to the car. Quiet, not moving, not even growling. A pink tranquilizer dart was visible on the closest one.

Magnum swore under his breath and wished he had brought his phone, so he could call for backup. Anyone who brought sedatives for guard dogs knew their way around security. He was about to approach the front door when it swung open and two men walked out. They were wearing all black clothes, from boots to baseball caps and gloves. And they were armed to their teeth.

Magnum watched as they took up positions on either side of the car and signaled back to the door with a nod. Magnum’s eyes flitted back, where two other men were dragging Higgins out by her arms.

It felt like an ice-cold punch in the stomach. She was dressed in old flannel shorts and a loose shirt, both a light blue color, clearly visible in the darkness. She had a piece of tape over her mouth and her hands were zip tied behind her back. And still, she was giving the two men a run for their money, thrashing around wildly. That’s when Magnum raised his weapon and stepped forward.

“Hey!” he called out and had already considered a plan, occupational hazard. Four strong, fast and agile men. Four guns against him wasn’t good odds, but he couldn’t let them get away with Higgins. It just wasn’t an option. The left one of the first two guys would be the closest problem. Magnum aptly dubbed him ‘Number One’.

The scrawnier man on the other side of the van had to clear two steps to even get Magnum in sight. That would give him a reaction time of about three seconds, if he didn’t just jump for cover. He got the number two.

The last two guys were also armed, but they counted as half each, because they needed, and struggled, to keep Higgins in line. Hopefully, only one of them would have enough mental agility to pull the trigger.

The closest, on Higgin’s left, the third, would probably let his partner, ‘Number Four’, take care of her as he himself would open up fire on Magnum. But he wasn’t sure about those two, everybody has a plan until the first shot is fired.

These people had enough sense and skills to enter the gate unnoticed, take out the dogs and they had overpowered Higgins. It stood to reason, that they were operating on an expert level. Therefore, shots would be fired.

As soon as he called out, Number One was already taking aim and no sooner had a trigger been pulled and a bullet whizzed past his ear. Unfazed, Magnum let out two bullets while moving forward in a crouch and saw the man scramble for cover, behind the engine block.

Another four shots rang out in the dark and Magnum saw the muzzle flashes from Number Three on his right. He briefly felt a sting, as one of the bullets clipped his right-side lower ribs.

Magnum hadn’t been sure about taking a shot in that direction in fear of accidentally hitting his friend, but he realized, that she had taken the opportunity to shoulder Number Four in the stomach and the two of them were now both on the ground. The man had aptly dropped his weapon and somehow it had found its way to Higgins’ hands.

Magnum squeezed the trigger again and his bullet found its mark, the shoulder of Number Two, who had stepped into his line of sight with his own gun aimed at Higgins.

Higgins, in turn let out half a dozen bullets at Number Three, who had been shooting at Magnum. With her hands tied together behind her back it wasn’t the best shooting, but she made up for it with quantity, as two of the bullets hit him in the shoulder and the neck. He slumped to the ground, no life in his eyes.

Number Four was grabbing number Two, who was clutching his shoulder, and the two of them jumped into the cab of the van which Number One had revved. The car lurched forward and skidded before fishtailing down the driveway, backdoors still swinging open.

“Higgins, you good?” Magnum called out as he rushed towards the man they had left behind and slid the man’s gun away with a bare foot, before checking for a pulse. There was so much blood he doubted the man had been alive to feel the landing.

He tugged his own gun into the small of his back, in the waistband of his board shorts and thanked the stars, that Kumu was on the Big Island visiting family. Higgins was still lying on her front and rested her forehead on the ground, her back raising and dropping in motion with her quick breaths when Magnum knelt by her side. He took the gun from her hands and helped her sit up before he gently pulled the tape of her mouth and flicked it off his fingers.

“I’m fine, Magnum,” she said carefully and let out a deep, but slightly shaking breath. Magnum took in her split eyebrow and the blood dripping from her nose.

“Sure, you are, and I’m the queen of England,” he scoffed and gently removed the tousled hair from her face.

“Just get me out of these, please,” she replied and cast a glance at the dead man. Magnum got to his feet and hurried through the door. Judging by her answer, both the tone and the ‘please’, he would say she wasn’t remotely fine. He had never heard her sound like that before, and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle that kind of Higgins. A minute later he came back with a knife in his hand and a phone, already on speaker.

“Katsumoto, it’s Magnum. I need your help,” he said urgently when the detective grunted an unintelligible greeting. He put the phone on the ground next to Higgins so he could use both his hands to cut of the plastic ties.

“ _Do you know what time it is, Magnum?_ ” the man replied, not sounding particular happy with the rude wake up call.

“Yes, and I apologize for waking you up. Four men just tried to get away with Higgins. Shots were fired, and three men took off in a white Econoline, no plates, small dent on the back bumper,” Magnum explained as the knife did its job and Higgins rubbed her torn wrists.

“ _What? Is she alright?_ ” the detective asked, all sound of sleep now gone from his voice. They heard rustling on the line, like he was fighting his way out of the covers.

“ _She_ is fine,” Higgins replied and accepted the hand Magnum offered her and was quickly pulled to her feet. “They slipped past the gate, the alarm and the dogs. Magnum managed to clip one in… Magnum, what’s this?” she asked and looked at the dark blood on her fingers. She grabbed his hand again and turned it around, to see the underside slick with dark blood, the source of the blood coming from a jagged hole in his shirt.

“Just a scratch, noting to worry about,” Magnum said as he studied the blood, feigning indifference. Sadly, he had become quite accustomed to bullet wounds and bleeding. Higgins batted his hand away and lifted the shirt to judge the graze for herself.

“ _What’s nothing to worry about?_ ” Katsumoto, forgotten by the both of them, asked as Magnum flinched when Higgins gently pried in the wound.

“Magnum’s been shot,” she replied as if it was a mere annoyance and tugged the shirt over his head, much to his surprise. She crumpled it up and pressed it against the bleeding eliciting a hiss of pain from Magnum.

“ _I’ll be there in ten minutes,_ ” Katsumoto said and ended the call. Was that a hint of exasperation, in his voice, Magnum briefly wondered. Higgins placed Magnum’s left hand over the bundled-up t-shirt and put a good amount of pressure on his hand.

“It’s nothing, really, you should check on the dogs, make sure they’re alright,” he said as Higgins glanced up at him, something akin to worry in her eyes. After a moment, she nodded and turned to walk over to her dogs. He didn’t need her to worry about him. She pulled the darts with sedatives from the two slumped dogs and studied them carefully. She stroked their backs in turn and moved their legs to more comfortable positions. Clearly, they had just been dragged and dropped there for the intruder’s convenience.

Magnum secured the two weapons of the intruders as he called Rick, his hand still keeping the pressure. He knew his friend would want to know, and was sure both he and TC would come running.

“ _Hey, man, what’s up?_ ” Rick asked, his tone of voice not tired, but anxious. Owning a club had a tendency to destroy any normal habits of sleep. He had experienced, that no phone calls in the middle of the night were good news.

“Hey, Rick, listen, somebody tried to grab Higgins, and before you ask, she’s alright. Three of them got away, but one is dead and I clipped another in the shoulder,”

Magnum explained hurriedly in a low voice. There was a short pause of hesitant incredulity that turned into worry.

“ _I can practically hear you’re bleeding, Thomas, were you hit?_ ” his friend asked with concern in his voice. Magnum huffed and smiled. Rick knew him too well. They could tell each other’s level of pain just by the strain in their voices.

“It’s not bad, but not comfortable either. Barely a flesh wound,” Magnum replied and briefly removed the shirt to check the bleeding again.

“ _Say no more, my friend. I’ll grab TC and we’ll be there in a flash,_ ” Rick replied and Magnum grunted in acknowledgement and disconnected the call. A chilled breeze made him shudder for a second and his eyes fell on the man by his feet.

His thoughts were just about to take off on a wild ride, when a car came up the driveway. The blue lights slowed to lazy, as the car parked and Katsumoto stepped out, dressed in old, faded jeans and a wrinkled shirt. The headlights did wonders to driveway and for a moment all the blood from the dead man was as highlighted as Higgins’s skin had been in the moonlight.

Katsumoto glanced at said woman, still kneeling over the dogs, then at the body and then to Magnum. Determining, that neither was about to keel over, he could finally relax a little bit and breathe.

“I’m pretty sure, that was less than ten minutes, Detective,” Magnum pointed out.

“No traffic at this time of the night,” the man simply replied and walked over to him. “How bad?” he asked and nodded to the crumpled-up fabric under his hand.

“Just a couple of stitches, I think,” Magnum replied as Higgins came over to them, arms crossed and shoulders slightly hunched.

“How are you doing?” Katsumoto asked and placed a hand on her elbow.

“I’m fine, thank you for coming,” she replied and threw a look back over her shoulder as HPD began to show up.

“And the dogs?” Magnum asked. As much as he complained about the two beasts, he wouldn’t want anything bad for them.

“They’ll come around, won’t be long,” she replied and tried to give the two men a vague smile.

“Why don’t you go and sit down for a moment. I’ll come check on you later and take your statement, alright?” he asked and she nodded in agreement and went to sit on the bench next to the door.

“I think she’s a little shaken up,” Magnum sighed and looked after her.

“You look a little pasty yourself. Are you sure, you’re alright?” Katsumoto asked and eyed him scrupulously.

“I’ll be fine, really. Thank you for coming. Oh, Rick and TC are on their way, too. Will you let them in? I’ll go check on Higgins.”

“Sure. If you need anything, just let me know. The ambulance should be here soon,” the detective replied with a nod. Their friendly rivalry paused; he actually didn’t think Magnum was so bad. But he would never admit that to anyone, of course, not even under oath. Katsumoto watched the man walk over to the bench and grabbed a throw blanket from the armrest and with one arm managed to unfold it and draped it around the shoulders of the now frail-looking woman. He turned around to get back to his job.

Higgins had zoned out for a few minutes and didn’t register Magnum’s presence before the blanket enveloped her. She turned to give him a thankful smile when he sat down and wanted to say something, but she didn’t know where to start.

“This is almost embarrassing,” she finally said and Magnum scrunched up his eyebrows with a curious look at her.

“I’m sorry, I’m a little lost here… could you let me in on your train of thoughts?” he asked, completely unaware of what she was talking about. She gestured to herself and sighed.

“I’m trained and highly skilled for situations like this. I should be able to handle this better, instead they got the drop on me,” she confessed and leaned back. She tugged quietly at the blanket and devoted her eyes to the ground before her again.

“Come on, they were professionals, four of them no less. Look how easy it was for them to get through the gate and the alarm. Don’t beat yourself up, Higgy. I’m sure you would have kicked their asses, if you had known. If anything, it’s my fault, the resident security consultant,” Magnum said and put his free hand on her shoulder. _A lot of good that did_ , he silently added. They were quiet for a few moments, neither of them wanting to use energy on that particular subject.

“Looks like the ambulance is here. You should get that wrapped up,” she said as she briefly pried his hand and the shirt away. He was actually beginning to feel the cold of not wearing a shirt, but he wasn’t about to let her know that.

“Come on, let’s get you checked out,” he said and offered her a hand again. He pulled them to their feet and let her lead the way across the driveway. He gave in for the need to keep a hand on her back, almost leading her to the newly arrived vehicle. He tried to convince himself, that she needed this ‘grounding’, but deep inside he knew it was mostly for himself. Katsumoto’s commentary about his pasty look was spot on how he had felt, since Higgins had been dragged out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Katsumoto had already delegated the jobs and menial tasks to the first officers that had rolled up. Securing the perimeter, guarding the body, searching the grounds, dog sitting and so on. He found himself down at the end of the driveway, which was now clogged with police cars and personnel, waiting for the two aforementioned friends of the private investigator. Within minutes, the little silver sportscar came to a halt from a neck-breaking speed.

“How are they?” Rick asked already before having shut the door. TC clambered around the hood of the car to listen in. They began walking towards the house.

“Higgins got some bumps and bruises, nothing serious, as far as I know. Magnum was nicked by a bullet. Says it’s just a couple of stitches,” the detective replied.

“Of course, he does,” TC mumbled. “Do you know what happened?”

“Nothing more that you guys, I imagine,” Katsumoto answered and let out a breath. “Four men in a white panel van. Disabled the alarm, overrode the gate and tranquillized the dogs. They were dragging Higgins out the front door, when Magnum caught up with them. One dead, the three others got away, one of them with a bullet in the shoulder.”

“Can we do anything to help?” Rick asked as an officer raised the yellow tape at the gate for them to duck under.

“Just… keep an eye on them, would you?” Katsumoto asked and stopped with the two men before they rounded the corner of the ambulance. TC nodded and Rick gave the detective a reassuring pat on the shoulder as the two of them continued.

He had issued an APB on the Econoline already before he had arrived, but no one in the vicinity had spotted anything close to the van yet. He trudged back to the dead body where the CSU were just setting up.

“Sir, please, sit still,” the paramedic admonished as Magnum yet again moved uncomfortably.

“I would, if you would stop attacking me with that acid,” said man replied. Though he sounded grumpy, it was all a show he put on for Higgins. She seemed to think it was funny, that he squirmed around like a kid. He had kept a close eye on her when he had directed her to sit in the back of the ambulance, but then the other paramedic ordered him to sit on the gurney, they had rolled out.

“If he’s too ticklish, then you have our permission to knock him out cold,” Rick said with a grin when he came around the corner.

“Very funny, Orville, I’m not ticklish,” Magnum replied and writhed away to prove the man’s point.

“Hey, guys, are you alright?” TC asked and took in the scene before them.

“I really need to clean this wound,” the paramedic insisted.

“Just get it over with,” Magnum grunted.

“We’ll be fine,” Higgins replied the pilot while getting her second wrist bandaged. She was already sporting a butterfly band-aid on her eyebrow which had taken a dark purple shade. Crusted blood was still visible under her nose. She was somewhat delighted about Magnum’s uneasiness.

“Rick, I need you to hit up Kawika about the van, maybe he knows something. And find out if dog sedatives are easy to come by,” Magnum said between clenched teeth and the occasional hiss of pain.

“Sure thing, why don’t I start by finding you a shirt, huh? You look a little cold, man,” the man replied with a quick pat on Magnum’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” came the response. Same as usual.

“You were shot, Magnum. For normal people that is not considered ‘fine’,” Higgins said as she was allowed to hop down.

“Ms. Higgins is right, Sir,” the paramedic agreed when the last piece of tape was attached to the square patch of gauze, securing it tightly over the wound. “Given your condition, I would like to bring you back to the hospital, if not for treatment, then at least to get a few stitches and a check-up.”

“My condition?” the investigator parroted. “I’m feeling fine,” he repeated again.

“Prove it. Walk in a straight line over to your friend,” the paramedic challenged and gestured to TC. It was barely six feet; he could cover that in two strides and yet a brief glance of hesitation passed his eyes before the decisiveness appeared. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard. What could go wrong?

“No problem,” he said and scooted down from the gurney. One step securely forward, and then his world tilted and the next second, he was looking up at the stars, with Higgins, Rick, TC and both of the paramedics hovering above him. Thanks to Rick’s quick reflexes, he had been carefully lowered to the ground.

“Hospital it is,” the second paramedic declared.

An hour later Magnum had been situated between curtains with two IV’s. One for fluids and a little dose of painkillers and another to replenish the loss of blood. He also sported a new dressing with five stitches underneath. Rick and TC had finally agreed to go see Kawika, but only because Higgins had taken up the post of a sedentary sentry, who had vowed to keep him in the hospital. Rick had been kind enough to fetch shoes and some more comfortable clothes for both her and Magnum. They had lapsed into silence and Magnum was on the verge of nodding off, when Higgins’s voice pulled him back to being awake.

“Thank you, Thomas, for saving my life,” she said quietly. Magnum turned his head and gave her a soft smile. Her eyes let him know just how grateful she was.

“I’m pretty sure we’re even, but you’re welcome. Anytime, Juliet,” he replied, equally quiet.

“If you hadn’t been there,” she began, visibly disgusted by the thought.

“You would have gotten the upper hand eventually. All you needed was the distraction I provided with you with,” Magnum said before she could say another word.

“Getting shot is a hell of a distraction,” she agreed with a hesitant smile.

“But it worked, didn’t it?” he asked, a smug grin spreading over his face. A few moments passed. “Any idea who or why?” he didn’t exactly have to elaborate on the question, but her eyes became a little distant.

“The answer is yes; I have made some enemies through my career. It might take some time getting through the list, though,” she replied to the unasked question.

“That many, huh?” Magnum asked with a small grin as the curtains parted.

“It might not take long to shorten the list,” Katsumoto said when he entered the little cubicle. “How are you doing?” he asked, when he took a seat in the empty chair next to Higgins.

“Fine,” Magnum was quick to respond.

“Which translates to minor blood loss,” Higgins explained with a pointed look at the PI, who sighed dramatically.

“You were saying?” Magnum prompted the detective, who in turn offered them a manila folder, which Higgins grabbed first. She angled it, so that Magnum could read over her shoulder without aggravating his wound. Like she also did, when helping him with the tech-stuff he was utterly useless at.

“The man you killed is local muscle for hire. His name is Makani Iona, records going back to his childhood, everything from shoplifting to violence, possession of firearms and drugs. Duke’s got a team tearing through his house, right now,” he said while the two of them were reading the man’s rap sheet.

“Any hints on who his employer is… was?” Higgins asked.

“No, but it’s still early. The guns you recovered are untraceable, serial numbers have been filed off, but they’re high quality and look fairly new. They might be connected to one of Five-0’s current cases, so they’re running point,” the detective continued. Seeing that both of them was about to interrupt, he held up a hand.

“They’re not taking over the case, and _no_ , you may _not_ assist in any way, what so ever,” he said with a very stern look, pinning both Magnum to Higgins. “The two of you are too close to this, and as soon as possible I’ll have a unit transport you back to the Robin’s Nest and have you both on house arrest with multiple cars in the area. For your own safety,” he said and could literally feel the glower coming from Magnum. Higgins seemed to deflate at that last jab.

With the major subject out of the way, Katsumoto found his notebook and a pen from his pocket. Normally, any subjects would have been interviewed alone, but these two people weren’t exactly considered normal.

“From the beginning, please,” he asked gently.

Daylight was beginning to shine and with it, it brought a personnel change in the hospital. As if on cue Magnum and Higgins finished their storytelling when a doctor joined them and checked Magnum’s intake and numbers. Katsumoto stood and pocketed his notebook and pen.

“Guys, you were extremely lucky tonight. Might not be so the next time. Think about that, before you do anything, and call me if anything happens. I’ll keep you updated,” Katsumoto said and nodded at the two of them as they muttered their vague ‘thanks’.

The events of the night were catching up with them and Magnum had been visibly tired out, yawning for the past twenty minutes. Higgins were not faring much better, but she had gone uncharacteristically quiet, mulling it over again and again. It didn’t take long for the doctor on the dayshift to clear Magnum and soon after they were being chauffeured back to their home in an unmarked car.

There was still a good amount of police present as they walked to the front door in silence. The dead man, Makani Iona, had been removed and was probably on the way to Noelani for autopsy, though cause of death was pretty obvious. The blood had not yet been removed as CSU were still sketching, measuring and taking photos.

“Come on,” Magnum said quietly as he gently pulled Higgins away from the front door and around the house. The guesthouse was empty and quieter without the bustling of officers, the squabble from their radios and the occasional _woop-woop_ of sirens from coming and going cars. Their entrance was timed perfectly with the automated coffeemaker and Magnum headed straight for it. He returned with a mug for Higgins as she sat down on the couch.

“You alright?” he asked when he sat down next to her.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Just got a lot on my mind,” she said and sipped at the steaming hot beverage. She really needed to do some yoga or unwind in a chair on the beach with her bare feet in the sand. Magnum nodded silently, sensing she needed some time he stood, but hesitated.

“I’m gonna make some calls. If you need some sleep, you can take my bed. I’ll be around if you need anything,” he said and when she didn’t reply he walked to the lanai and sat down in a chair with his phone and coffee.

“ _Everything alright?_ ” Rick asked after one ring.

“Yeah, we’re back at the guesthouse. Anything from Kawika?” Magnum asked, looking out over the grounds.

“ _No, but he’s put word out to his boys. Also, I reached out to Captain Greene and Josie, they’re both on standby,_ ” Rick said, not wasting any time.

“Good, they might come in handy at one point,” Magnum replied.

“ _Let me guess, Katsumoto, strictly told you to stay out of it, right?_ ”

“Yeah, but when has that ever stopped me?”

“ _Magnum, TC and I actually agree with him on this. You and Higgy are to stay put and let us do the job this time,_ ” Rick tried and Magnum briefly looked at the screen, thinking he was speaking to the wrong Rick.

“Rick…” Magnum began, but his friend interrupted him.

“ _Listen, Thomas, let us take care of this. I’ve reached out to someone I know, who might be able to help. His name’s Langford and he’s MI6, really nice guy. I also spoke with Clayton, the DDA, to explore the options… listen, I’ve got an incoming call, we’ll swing by later, man. Be careful, Thomas,_ ” Rick said and ended the call. Magnum was left starring at his phone again before he searched his contacts for the ME’s phone number.

“ _You should stay out of this case, Magnum. Detective Katsumoto all but gave me a finished script for what I should tell you if you called me. And it wasn’t nice words,_ ” Noelani said before Magnum could even say hello.

“I’m that predictable, huh?” he asked and rubbed his forehead in part frustration, part exhaustion.

“ _I’m sorry, even if I would, there’s nothing to tell yet. The body just landed at my table a minute ago,_ ” the medical examiner confessed.

“It’s alright, Noelani, I get it. I’ll catch you later,” he said and ended the call, this time before she could even say bye. He tossed the phone on the little table to his right and leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he had been so rudely woken up four hours ago, never in his life had he expected things to turn out the way they did. He could literally feel all the energy leave his body with the rest of the adrenaline as he sat there, listening to the waves. Coffee in one hand and the other resting atop his newly dressed wound, he dozed off and saw glimpses of his newest nightmare again.

This time it was the loud crash of the mug splintering on the ground, that jolted him awake from his slumber and nearly gave him a heart attack as he flew up from the comfortable chair. He rubbed his face and sighed deeply before bending down and picking up the pieces. He would take care of the spilled coffee later, he thought as he walked inside and threw the mug in the trash.

Half an hour had passed since he’d fallen asleep and Higgins wasn’t on the couch anymore. Her coffee was still on the table, though empty. He walked to the bedroom and pushed the door open until he caught a silhouette of her on the bed. For a second, he stood there, enjoying the peaceful state of her face and the relaxation of her body. He stepped inside and found a blanket in the dark that he shook out and draped over her, causing her to stir.

“Magnum?” she asked in confusion and raised her head from the pillow, almost pushing herself up on her elbow.

“Everything’s alright, Juliet, go back to sleep,” Magnum hushed and gently guided her back down before retreating to the door.

“Magnum…” she said, her voice now clearer. He paused and looked over his shoulder, waiting. “Thank you,” was her only words.

“Get some rest,” he said quietly and pulled the door shut behind him. It felt weird that she thanked him, even more so because this was the second time today. Which was probably about to change with some much-needed sleep. So, he ambled to the main house and retrieved her laptop and phone. She would probably need them when waking up. Also, maybe he could learn a few things from the officers still at the scene.

“Mr. Magnum, how are you feeling?” a voice called after him when he was heading for the study. He turned around to the officer standing at the door to the lanai.

“I’ll live… You’re Pua, right?” he asked and the young officer nodded, practically beaming with pride. “Maybe you can help me out,” the investigator said.

“Sure thing, Mr. Magnum, whatever you need,” Pua replied.

“Updates on Makani Iona’s house, Five-0’s progress on the recovered weapons and the ME’s report. Can you get me that? Katsumoto said he would, but he’s so busy I wouldn’t want to trouble him by demanding he’d come down here,” Magnum said and flashed him a friendly grin.

“I just spoke to Tani Rey from Five-0, actually. She said that Kamekona knows a guy who knows a guy that deal with that merch, so they’re about to roll up on the dealer any minute now. That’s why she called, she wanted to ask if I was available for the take down, but I have to stay here, that’s Duke’s orders,” he said, proud of the fact that he had been called by the task force.

“Great. Anything else?” Magnum asked. He felt the need to go investigate for himself, but for the moment he would stay put. At least he got some intel.

“We found five thousand dollars in Iona’s mattress. Really, the mattress is so cliché,” Pua commented. “I can’t help you with the autopsy report, though. The body was removed just an hour ago,” he finished.

“Thank you, Pua. Would you give me a call, if you learn anything else? I think, it’s better than bothering Detective Katsumoto all the time, don’t you?” Magnum asked and handed his new friend a business card.

“Sure thing, Mr. Magnum. He’s really busy at the moment,” Pua agreed and put the card in his chest pocket. He gave a last nod and turned back to work. Magnum walked back to the guesthouse and left Higgins’s things at the table before he headed for the small stretch of private beach.


	3. Chapter 3

Magnum didn’t realize how much time had passed before hearing the soft voices of his friends as they came closer. He didn’t react when Rick called his name and he could almost hear them tense up as they whispered to each other. A third voice joined the discussion, one Magnum didn’t know. While sitting in the recliner with his feet buried in the sand and looking out into the vast blue water the sun had taken up position high on the sky.

“Magnum?” This time it was TC and Magnum mentally shook the cobwebs of his mind before looking over his shoulder.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said as mustered the strength to get to his feet. The pain relievers had worn off and the twinge in his side had begun to nag him. “I’m fine,” he said, because he knew the next question.

“Hey, buddy, I want you to meet Harry Langford, the guy I told you about earlier,” Rick reminded him, as if he had forgotten. The gangly man offered the investigator a hand in greeting with the near perfect smile.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Magnum,” he said with the same received pronunciation as Higgins. Magnum nodded and then went straight to business.

“How much do you know?” he asked and gestured to the chairs as he sat down in the one, he had just vacated.

“You had some undesirable houseguests last night, and though at least one is local, you need to find out if there could be a connection from across the pond, given your friend’s former occupation,” Langford confirmed as he sat down next to Magnum. Rick and TC occupied the last two chairs and fell into silence. Magnum nodded at the short, but precise explanation.

“So, you think you can find something actionable? We don’t have HPD backing on this, and for my friend’s safety I would like to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible,” Magnum said and unconsciously wrapped his arm around his middle.

“Oh, most definitely. But I’ll have to talk with your friend to shorten the list of targets. It would also help, if you would allow me to bring in a couple of my own friends from Five-0. McGarrett and Williams are solid lads, who I trust with my life,” the Englishman said and Magnum looked at him, sardonically.

“Alright, but this stays on the DL, it’s ‘need-to-know’-basis,” Magnum agreed quietly and offered his own hand to seal the deal.

“What’s going on here?” Higgins asked as she approached the men from behind. Magnum was about to reply, when Langford stood with a smile of recognition on his face.

“You could have told me your friend was Juliet Higgins,” he exclaimed as the others got to their feet.

“I didn’t know you knew each other,” Rick sort of apologized with a shrug.

“This ought to be good,” TC mumbled with a smile.

“We… don’t...?” Higgins said with a giant frown on her face at the recognition.

“My apologies, miss Higgins. I’ve heard a lot about you. Harry Langford,” he introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you,” she replied, the name not ringing any bells.

“I didn’t know the British Military was such a small world,” Magnum said and was almost grinning at the expression on Higgins’s face.

“Oh, it’s not. Quite extensive, actually. No, we had a mutual friend. Just wouldn’t shut up about her,” Langford pondered. Higgins’s face changed to one of surprise.

“You knew Richard,” she determined and Langford nodded.

“I was actually working with him in Istanbul before he was killed. He was a good bloke, I’m sorry for your loss,” he said sincerely.

“Thank you,” replied Higgins before looking around as if remembering why she had come down here and backtracked to her first question. “Now, what’s going on here?”

It was some time after and they had all moved back to the shade of the guesthouse, when Magnum, Rick and TC left the brits to catch up.

“We mean it, Thomas. You have to stay out of this, that’s why we brought help,” TC said with a stern hand on Magnums shoulder.

“Come on, guys, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. It’s not in my DNA,” Magnum tried. It was tiring to be told to back off all the time.

“Which brings me to why I spoke with Ellie Clayton. She can sort out temporary relocation to a secure facility with armed guards for both you and Higgins,” Rick said, much to Magnum’s dismay.

“That sounds a lot like prison,” he commented drily, another hint, that it was definitely last option.

“It’s not a prison. You’ll just have the full force of a highly skilled and decorated team of agents to keep you safe,” Rick explained.

“Correction, that sounds like WITSEC,” came the gruff reply and Rick almost threw his hands in the air in clear exasperation. “That’s not happening, and you know that, Rick.”

“Thomas, listen, I know it is not ideal, but you have to think of your safety,” TC said, his tone that of placating a ferocious animal.

“Go pitch that idea to Higgins. If she’s in, go for it, but I’m not taking a single step in that direction. You might as well throw me in solitary confinement, for three days, yourself,” Magnum said, his eyes and voice livid. “Forget it, guys. Not happening,” he finished and walked away from his two friends.

The ring of his phone was echoed in the dusty wine cellar on Robin Master’s property. Higgins would have told him to stay out of it, but it seemed like the only place he could find some solitude at the moment. However, he wasn’t quite sure why it was needed. He had never been one to shy away from his closest friends. At least not voluntary.

The police had almost cleared out of the main house upstairs, only the cleaners and vigilant sentries were left. He had heard the stern voice of Kumu some time ago, as she had bullied the remaining people about the state of the place, which had resulted in the current cleaners. Undoubtedly, she had checked up on Higgins and possibly made arrangement for the Dobermans. He didn’t know who had called the cultural curator back to the property.

No one had yet to find him down here, with his feet up on the opposite upholstery of the old leather chairs with a glass of red in his hand. The phone buzzed again.

“Magnum,” he said after accepting the call.

“ _It’s Kawika, listen, about that van, we haven’t found it yet, but I have a strong candidate right here. I’ll send you a pic,_ ” the man said and Magnum heard the zing of a received message. He opened it and scrunched up his nose.

“This is blue, Kawika. I’m pretty sure, I told Rick it was white,” Magnum said and bit back the groan.

“ _I know, but this one was painted recently… and take a look at the back bumper._ ” Magnum zoomed in on the picture and studied it carefully.

“You _have_ found it, Kawika, that’s the one. Where was it?” Magnum said as he sat up straight.

“ _Alleyway in Moanalua, paint was barely dry, window open, keys on the seat,_ ” Kawika replied and Magnum was already on his feet.

“Thanks, man. Text me the address,” Magnum said as he was heading for the stairs, the glass of wine left forgotten on the small table next to the chair. Gut instinct told him to bring Rick and TC, but he pushed it aside. He didn’t run in to Kumu on his way to the Ferrari, but when going through the gate, he was approached by an officer from the car right outside.

“Mr. Magnum, where’re you headed?” Katsumoto really hadn’t been lying about the amount of police presence on the block.

“Turns out, my fridge is empty. I’m going to find something for dinner. I can bring you and your friends something, if you want. Already got orders from Higgins and Kumu. They want Chinese,” Magnum served the officer with the not so terrible lie. The best lies come from the truths and what he had just said, had been true last week. Higgins would have probably spotted it, but Magnum actually could be a really good liar.

“No, thank you, Mr. Magnum. Drive safe and be careful,” the officer replied with a nod and smile before walking back to the car. Magnum drove off, taking care to drive slowly until out of sight.

It didn’t take long for him to weave through traffic and find the alleyway Kawika had mentioned. He walked through it a couple of times, looking for anything out of the ordinary, before stopping at the street. It wasn’t busy, but it would have been earlier in the day. His eyes caught a surveillance camera across the street and he returned to the car to find his detective’s shield. It did wonders for the regulations and red tape he normally had to clear.

As he walked to the shop under the camera, he looked inside to find the cashier reading a book behind the counter. He pushed the door open and walked inside, looking confident and with an air of authority. There was no one else in the shop.

“Hello,” he said as the cashier looked up, smiling and hiding the book under the table. Magnum held up the shield, as he came closer, just long enough for the cashier to catch a glimpse of the gold piece. Usually, that would be enough.

“What can I do for you, Detective?” the cashier asked, wanting to help. Magnum caught a glimpse of the title on the book. ‘Masters’, ‘Knight’ and ‘Gambit’ was visible, so the private investigator assumed the cashier was willing to do anything in order for some adventure.

“I need your footage from the camera pointing towards the alley. Everything you’ve got since this morning, please,” Magnum replied as he made a show of putting the shield back on his waistband.

“Sure thing. What are you looking for? I’ve been here all day,” the cashier offered while typing on the keyboard.

“A blue Ford Econoline, I need to know when it arrived and who drove it,” Magnum said, hiding the small hope from his eyes. The cashier’s eyes shot back to him.

“I remember that one. Some guy left it around lunch. I remember because I had just finished eating. Islander, for sure. Average height, bit wiry, but fit. He jumped into another car. A dark green Chevy Cobalt, at least fifteen years old. I know, cause my brother got the exact same model as his first car,” the cashier said confidently.

“Did you get a plate, too?” Magnum asked. His heart had just skipped a beat at the new lead. Surely, he should tell Katsumoto about the van, the cashier and the car… but then he would undoubtedly be even more benched than he already was.

“No, I’m sorry, I got a costumer before he drove off. Here you go,” the cashier said, and handed Magnum a CD in a case. “The one in the Chevy kept glancing into the backseat. I did hear squealing tires, though, but I’m can’t be sure they came from the Chevy,” the cashier said.

“Thank you, very much, you’ve been a great help. Do you think, you could describe these men to a sketch artist?” Magnum asked. He had decided to bring in the HPD for this. He needed the great force of the police for this. The cashier nodded eagerly and Magnum nodded to the book. “What do you think about it?” he asked, honestly curious.

“It’s great fiction. Heavy on the action, but the main character softens it up a bit. Really good balance between him and the sidekicks. Needs a touch of romance for the hero, though. He deserves it,” the cashier said and gleamed at Magnum for showing his interest. With that in mind and the surveillance in hand, he walked back to the Ferrari as he found Katsumoto’s number. Pausing, he looked up for a moment and then scrolled a bit further down in his contacts.

“Mac, hey, I need a favor,” he said when Josie MacReynolds answered the call.

During his meet-up with Josie, his phone had buzzed in his pocket several times. It might be related to the call from Katsumoto he hadn’t answered. He found his phone and looked at the ID. Higgins would want to know where he was and if he didn’t tell her, she would find out by herself. He had been gone for a couple of hours and the sun was beginning to set, already.

“Higgy, everything alright?” he asked, doing his best to not sound suspicious.

“ _I was gonna ask you the same thing, Magnum. Katsumoto’s here with an update, says he couldn’t get a hold of you. Where are you?_ ” Higgins asked with a little concern in her voice.

“I’m just out for a drive to clear my head. What’s happened?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

“ _A body with a GSW to the shoulder was just pulled out of the Kalihi Channel. Matches your visitor from last night. Noelani thinks he died of blood loss around noon,_ ” Katsumoto said with just a pinch of anger in his voice. “ _You were supposed to stay on the grounds, Magnum,_ ” he continued in the same breath.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, I gotta go, I’ll call you later,” Magnum said and ended the call, no doubt leaving both Higgins and Katsumoto with unanswered questions. He put the Ferrari in drive and aimed at the nearest waterfront where dumping a body was possible. It was possible, that the driver of the Chevy was driving around with his dead friend in the backseat, therefore the nervous glances. His decision about telling the detective about his new escapades had been altered with the update. While driving, he called the police dispatch and asked for Officer Pua Kai. A minute later, said officer was patched through to him.

“Pua, it’s Magnum. Detective Katsumoto just told me about the body dump in the Kalihi and then he had to go. I was hoping, maybe you could tell me more about it,” Magnum asked, hoping the little lies sounded truthful enough.

“ _There isn’t much to tell. Body could have been dumped somewhere between Ke’ehi Boat Harbor and Kapãlama Basin, but no one knows for sure, yet. We’re canvassing the area for any footage or witnesses_ ,” Pua said dutifully.

“Sounds good, let me know if you find anything,” Magnum said and ended the call. It wasn’t much but to go on and from end to end it could very easily be two miles. At least it wasn’t desolated island cost, but heavily populated cityscape. He slowed down and pulled over into an empty parking space to think. He sent a message to Kawika to keep an eye out for the Cobalt and another to Josie, asking for an update. A minute later she replied; _Enhancing, might take some time. I’ll call with an update, /J._ Magnum smothered a yawn and then clamped a hand over his stitches when they pulled. Thinking HPD had it covered for tonight, he headed home, so he could actually get some sleep.

“Magnum, what on Earth have you been doing all day?” Higgins asked when he cut the engine and leaned his head back against the headrest with a sigh. Luckily, the officers posted outside hadn’t approached him about his late return just after sunset.

“Out and about, nowhere particular,” he replied when he dragged himself out of the car and headed for the guesthouse. Higgins’s bruises looked even more colorful than this morning. “What’s that,” he asked with a smile on his lips. “Is that actually lines of concern for me?” he asked and Higgins quickly pursed her lips.

“Don’t be daft, Magnum, I just couldn’t take it if the car needed even more repairs,” she replied, the usual endless sarcasm biting back at him. Magnum paused for a moment and actually looked at the woman before him. Tense shoulders, wringed hands covered by her crossed arms, bottom lip chaffed and shadows under the eyes. Clearly toned down, but not enough to hide all of it, especially not for the private investigator with a keen eye for details.

“How are you?” Magnum asked and looked at her face, as she briefly looked down and then back up to meet his eyes. She released her shoulders and smiled warmly.

“Better… but not quite the same just yet. What about you?”

“Getting there,” he simply replied with a shrug. “Where are the hounds?” he asked, when he realized he hadn’t heard any growling.

“Under supervision in their cages until the drugs are completely out of their systems,” she replied and Magnum nodded.

“I heard Kumu earlier. Who called her back?” he asked, thinking it was Higgins.

“Rick told her about last night, and she insisted on coming back. By the way, he and TC came by earlier, looking for you. Something about an apology,” she remembered and Magnum nodded. He hadn’t left them with the best words. _You might as well throw me in solitary confinement, for three days, yourself._ Magnum almost visibly shuddered at the memory. Back to the more serious matter.

“I’ll walk the perimeter a few times tonight. Keep your phone on. Anything suspicious, you call me, alright?” Magnum asked and Higgins nodded, a little baffled by his newly found sense of security. “Goodnight, Higgy,” he said and started towards the guesthouse again.

“Night, Magnum,” she called after him, before he heard her walk back into the main house.


	4. Missing scene

The first thought, that came to me, when I was woken up, was ‘ _What the bloody hell, Magnum!_ ’. Then I realized it had been Zeus, who had barked. Normally, if the lads had found a squirrel, they would make chase and both barking and growling would ensue. So, that eerie feeling was what chased me out of bed.

I had only just walked through the bedroom door, when I sensed an object coming at my face. Instinct and years of training already had me ducking and charging at my accoster. I must have been too slow, or maybe it was too dark, but I only just managed to halt, before another bloke threw a punch at me.

It sent me reeling sideways to the floor and I could already feel the blood trickle. I had barely stopped moving when a couple of strong hands grabbed my arms and hauled me upright.

Once I found my foothold, I managed to jerk my arm away and hit one of them with an elbow. I’m not sure if I hit a nose or just a chin, but damn, it felt good. To make further damage, I sent him toppling over a table with a weak kick. Clearly, I had succeeded in knocking the air out of the man as he thumped to the floor and groaned in pain.

If I hadn’t been pulled away mid-kick, I would probably have broken a couple of his ribs. As I swiveled around to the other man, he punched me in the face. It made my eyes water and I hissed in pain.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I had three guys tackle me to the ground. Their weight alone had me gasping for air before they slapped a piece of duct tape over my mouth and zip-tied my hands behind me.

Incapacitated, temporarily, they hoisted me to my feet again, but I wasn’t having it. This wasn’t how I was supposed to go out. I finally got my bearings and actually looked at the men. Four of them, average, but strong. Fairly experienced, but all clad in black.

I struggled against the two, who was holding me, but they just pushed me into the wall before they walked to the door. They almost dragged me out when I saw the van outside. And the dogs. My first thought was ‘ _Bloody hell, this is it_ ’, then I found that fire, the spirit, Richard had talked about when he had once been captured on a mission.

I fought for my life. For a second, I actually managed to free my arm and thrash around wildly, with only my shoulders as weapons.

Then Magnum’s voice had reached me and I briefly caught a glimpse of the ex-SEAL in a hunched position behind a gun and I instantly knew I would make it. Never, in my life, had I seen such an expression on anybody’s face, it was feral. I never thought that Thomas Magnum, the ever-so-chipper and relaxed man, could portray such danger.

In the next fleeting moment, gun shots interrupted me and brought me back to the present. The one on my left had let go, but had produced a gun, currently aiming at the newcomer. I grabbed the chance, and drove my shoulder into the man on my right. His gun fell to the ground with us and I kicked out in a frenzy until I caught the gun.

I pulled the trigger, unsure of how many times, hopefully aiming at the one who had been on my left two seconds ago. The gun kicked and bucked, and the zip ties cut into my wrists. It’s not easy to shoot a man behind you, while on your stomach, hands tied behind your back and aiming over your shoulder. But I managed to hit him.

Looking towards the van, I came face to face with a muzzle, until it was flung away, courtesy of a bullet from Magnum. The guy on my right scrambled for his friend and they jumped into the van before it raced off.

I rested my head on the ground, completely spent, and tried to catch my breath. Magnum called out, but for the moment I didn’t have the energy to answer him. I sensed his presence over me, before the gun in my hands were removed and he helped me sit up. He pulled the tape of my mouth and studied my face.

“I’m fine, Magnum,” I reassured him, to what he only laughed. Oh, the irony.

“Sure, you are, and I’m the queen of England,” he replied with a taunt before brushing hair out of my face. I must have looked like a mess, I realized.

“Just get me out of these, please,” I said, almost pleadingly. When he left, I briefly studied the dead man in a pool of blood and tried to regain my composure. I had never expected this whole new side to Magnum, but I was forever grateful that he had appeared when he did.


	5. Chapter 5

The first two walkarounds had been fruitless. Everything was secure and Magnum had rested well between the rounds. Higgins had still been awake during the first round and by the second, only a dim light in the corner of the main house had been on. If Magnum had to guess, she was probably reading or meditating to slow her brain before sleep.

By the current round, the third, everything had been toned down. Birds and insects had gone dormant until the next rays of light. Distant traffic had died down, no voices carried on the breeze, only the soft crashes of the quiet ocean served as background noise.

It was almost three and Magnum figured he could fit in a last round before dawn. Though nothing had been out of the ordinary he had felt the need to carry a weapon on these rounds. He was also equipped with his phone and a flashlight, currently turned off and in his pocket.

With his eyes accustomed to the dark and his hearing on high alert, he caught the small movements and faint sounds of every nook and cranny. But even that wasn’t enough as a warning, when a dry twig cracked in the hedging to his right. He whirled around, a hand on the butt of his gun and pulled the flashlight from his pocket, aiming it at the origin of the sound. And froze.

“Do not move. Do not make a sound. I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your head,” a voice spoke quietly behind his ear. It was emphasized by the subtle click of a live weapon and a muzzle placed at the base of his skull. The voice was strong, used to calling the shots. Magnum was completely still, waiting. His eyes flickered from side to side, as more figures slowly crawled out from the brushes. He counted five, six in total with the one behind him. They were wearing all black combat gear and masks. He had to let Higgins know. He had to warn her, protect her.

One man, weapon trained on Magnum’s chest walked up and padded him down. The rest kept their weapons pointed to the ground. Flashlight, gun and phone was tossed in the grass further away.

Whoever had been behind the attack last night, had clearly stepped up their game with the new team. These guys made the last ones look like amateurs. Magnum got the ‘military vibe’ off of them, one he didn’t relish, because it probably wouldn’t end in his favor.

“What do you want?” Magnum dared when the second man stepped back, gun still aimed square at his chest. Luckily, they hadn’t tied his hands. He wasn’t sure, if that was intentional or not. It gave them a reason to shoot, if he tried anything. And he was sure they would.

“Nothing you need to worry your pretty, little head about, Lieutenant Commander,” the man from behind him said. Magnum hid his surprise, he had kind of expected it. He still hadn’t moved much, except for lowering his shoulders and appearing to stand straighter and more relaxed.

“Seems like, you have an advantage, knowing who I am. Why not return the favor and tell me your name? I’m sure we haven’t met before,” Magnum said and glanced over his shoulder towards the main house, which was still in darkness. The man behind him just huffed out a condescending laugh.

Higgins needed to know. Yelling wasn’t an option. Too far away and with the waves not far away, she would never be able to hear him. Running up there was a definite no-go. Which only left his adversaries’ weapons. If he could somehow get one of them discharged, Higgins would definitely know. And the officers outside the gate would know something was up and come running.

“We haven’t,” the man confirmed.

“But you agreed to do this for a lousy payout? I mean, you could earn more as a PMC and still have a good conscience,” Magnum said.

“I wouldn’t call ten grands a lousy payout. Not when we get the other half for a job well done,” the man replied with a snicker. Twenty grand, Magnum briefly thought. For six men in total, that was a lot of money, including the twenty grand their employer dished out for the previous crew. No denial on the private military contractor part.

“Except you won’t get the money. When you fail this job, your boss will have you killed. No loose ends,” Magnum tried. That made the six men chuckle quietly.

“I tried to persuade my employer to let us do the job correctly on account of both you and the bitch’s background, but he insisted on finding some local bottom feeders. I had them taken care off, when they couldn’t deliver. Unfortunately, there were only two left,” the leader said and readjusted his grip on the gun when Magnum gave an involuntary twitch at the reference to Higgins. He felt a chill run down his spine and his pulse picked up a notch when he realized the man enjoyed killing.

“What do you want with Higgins?” Magnum asked and had to clench his teeth together when the gun was lowered and jabbed into his ribs near the stitches.

“Enough talking. Birdie, Howler, take him down to the RIB and tie him up. Knock him out, if necessary, the boss wants him breathing. Texas, clear the guesthouse. Red, main entrance. Eyes on the cops. Shorty, with me, we’ll take the backdoor. Let’s go,” the man behind Magnum said. The gun pushed him not so gently forward towards the two men supposedly being Birdie and Howler. It dawned upon him, that Higgins wasn’t their only target. Which made it possible that the MI6-connection was a total bust and waste of time.

“Just one second,” Magnum said speculatively, out loud when the six men jumped into action. Luckily, they paused and he had to think quick. Pulse racing in his ears, he turned around to face the unnamed man who had taken a step towards the house. One against six was even worse than earlier, but he had to do something. He thought a brief prayer to whoever was listening.

“What?” the leader of the group asked, impatiently.

“Oh, nothing, I just needed you to turn around,” he said and jumped forward at the guy, quick as a rattle snake. The gun came up between them and Magnum pushed it up further before the first shot rang through the air, above his left shoulder. Simultaneously, he punched the guy in the ribs and whirled around to stand behind him, so he kept the man between him and the five other guns.

He kept his left arm around the man’s neck and the right hand had twirled the gun out of the guys hand and into his own, which was now pointing to the temple of the nameless man. The others hadn’t dared fire a single shot yet, but still Magnum could feel the wet warmth from his newly opened wound on his ribs.

“Now what?” the leader grunted in anger. Clearly, he hadn’t expected anything from a single guy against six guns.

“Now, your friends will put their weapons down and take three steps towards us,” Magnum said in his most authoritarian voice. It was all for nothing, when the first shouts came from behind him. The leader threw his weight back into Magnum and the two of them tumbled to the ground when the five guys opened fire on the police officers advancing from the house.

They wrestled for the gun while a hail of bullets flew over their heads. A fist connected to Magnum’s jaw and sent him careening onto his back, before a jerking knee caught him above the hip. Another fist, which had been very well-aimed, collided with his bleeding wound and the pain alone from that, almost sent him into oblivion.

The leader called out something intelligible as he freed himself from Magnum and seconds later, they were retreating towards the private stretch of beach. The explosion of stars before Magnum’s eyes dissipated with them and he rolled onto his knees while pressing an arm around his pounding middle.

“Thomas!” Higgins called from a distance, as several feet pounded towards him. The shooting had subsided and, in the distance, a roaring motor grew quieter as it came further away. Despite the pain, he straightened up and let out a deep breath when Higgins fell on her knees before him, fussing and checking him over.

“It’s fine, just tore the stitches,” he said between gritted teeth and pushed down a wave of pain and dizziness. “Help me up,” he said, before she could react to his downplaying the pain. A moment later he was on his feet, one arm around his middle and the other bracing himself on his knee. He could have been mistaken for a winded runner, if not for the blood decorating his right side.

“Are you sure, you’re alright, Magnum?” Higgins asked with a gentle hand on his back. Just now, he realized she was actually shaking a little bit. Or maybe it was him. A gunfight in the backyard would do that to you.

“Yeah… maybe… no. I think, I need to sit down for a bit,” he admitted and few moments later he was leaning on Higgins while they walked to the lanai. One of the officers supported him on the other side and briefly updated them.

“Detective Katsumoto’s on his way. Ambulance is five minutes out; one officer was hit in the arm. Suspects fled in a speedboat,” he said and left them alone, when Magnum lowered himself onto one of the comfortable chairs. He let out another breath and tilted his head towards Higgins.

“Rick talked with the DDA. Said something about temporary relocation. Maybe you should consider the option,” he said and Higgins just scoffed at him.

“Would _you_?” she asked with a sceptic smile. Magnum huffed back, agreeing with her skepticism. His face turned serious again.

“I should probably call them, give them an update,” he said, but made no move to do so, partly because his phone was still scattered in the grass where it had been tossed. Also, he didn’t really know how to start the conversation after their last.

“I’ll do that, you just rest up a bit,” Higgins said, picking up on the reluctance. Magnum nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, hunting away another wave of pain.

“Oh, dear. Look what the cat dragged in,” Kumu joked when she rushed to his side. By the lack of questions, Magnum figured Higgins had just updated her on the current situation. The older woman handed him a towel, which he pressed to the seeping wound at his side.

“Don’t worry about me, Kumu,” he said as he squinted at the older woman in her nighties and a robe. She was clearly worried, it looked like she had aged ten years in ten minutes.

“Oh, I’m not, but you’re bleeding all over a Dordoni-chair,” she said teasingly, which only had Magnum chuckling and then huffing in pain.

“Sorry, I’ll pay for the cleaning,” he smiled at her when she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Magnum, it’s out of your range,” Kumu chuckled. “Let me go pack a bag for you,” she said and moved towards the guest house before Magnum could protest to the fact, that he was probably going back to the hospital.

“Do you find trouble or does trouble find you, huh?” Katsumoto asked when he took the recently vacated seat.

“You know, I’m not entirely sure about that right now,” Magnum tried and earned a vague smile from the detective. “Six guys, ex-military, combat gear, masks. Breached from the shore. Didn’t hear them before they had a gun to my head,” Magnum said, unimpressed and closed his eyes again, shortly. “The leader called them Howler, Birdie, Texas, Red and Shorty,” he continued.

“Anything else?” Katsumoto asked and Magnum looked towards the water while the detective scribbled down the notes.

“They did their homework. Called me by rank. Their employer really upgraded from last night,” Magnum said. “Their boss wants me breathing.” Katsumoto paused and looked at the bleeding man before him.

“Great, so now you’re a target, too,” he commented drily. 

“Rick and TC will be here shortly. Mentioned something about getting reinforcements,” Higgins said when she returned.

“Anything on the dumped body yet?” Magnum asked, returning his attention to the detective next to him.

“Another local with a three feet sheet, name of Kealii Lahela. I was just getting started on his file, when this came on the air,” he said and signaled to the scene behind them.

“Did you find anything in Iona’s house? Besides the cash, I mean?” Magnum asked before the detective stood to leave. Katsumoto threw him a questioning look.

“How do you know about that?”

“I just… do. Look, Katsumoto, I can help, so just let me... please,” Magnum said, refraining from sounding anymore pathetic than what Higgins’s face told him he already sounded like.

“How much do you know?” Katsumoto asked without making any promises.

“My guess is, you’ll find another five grands at Lahela’s. Also, the remaining two from last night didn’t make it, courtesy of my new BFF. Oh, and you should be looking for a green Chevy Cobalt. A friend of mine is working on the video,” Magnum said. Katsumoto looked at him with disbelief in his eyes.

“You’re incredible. Go to the hospital, I’ll swing by later,” he said and looked to Higgins. “Don’t take your eyes of him,” he said and Higgins nodded in the affirmative. She was looking a little displeased herself.

“Don’t worry, Detective, I’ll have a talk with him,” she replied and gave the investigator a stern look. Magnum sighed in defeat and ran a hand over his face after Katsumoto had moved onto the grass to inspect the scene.

“Did you learn anything from Langford?” he asked.

“Quite a lot, actually. Turns out, that some has moved on, others have been captured, a few are dead. We got it narrowed down to eight possibilities. He’s checking with his sources, to see if there has been any chatter,” she replied and crossed her arms.

“Any probability, that they would want me, too?” Magnum asked, to what Higgins shrugged.

“You guys can’t be left alone, huh?” Rick’s voice sounded as he made his way over to the chairs.

“Listen, Rick, I’m sorry about earlier, I was way too harsh…”

“Don’t worry about it, Thomas, I get it, it was out of line from the beginning,” Rick interrupted. “For that, I’m sorry… look, I would love to hug it out, but I don’t want any blood on this silk shirt,” he continued to lighten the mood.

“Where’s TC?” Magnum asked, when he realized the pilot had trudged in behind Rick.

“Oh, he’s gathering the troops… long story short, Greene has agreed to train his guys in security here, for as long as needed,” Rick said, sort of enthusiastic.

“Are you saying, that Robin Masters’ property will be overrun by half a dozen sweaty men, high on a testosterone and adrenaline?” Higgins said in mild disbelief. Rick seemed to dwindle, before looking to Magnum for help.

“It’ll be great, Higgins, you’ll like them, I promise,” the investigator said, probably saving the club owners ass.

“If they touch or break anything, I’ll have Kumu deal with them directly,” she huffed out in irritation. If people thought the majordomo of the estate was terrifying, then they wouldn’t want to deal with the cultural curator, who saw every item on the property, as her own priceless art.

“Come on, Higgy, they’re not kids,” Rick said, hoping to save face for the day.

“That’s what concerns me… exhibit A, this man-child, who runs around playing detective,” she said and gestured to Magnum.

“Ouch!” Magnum exclaimed to the jab, but with a grin on his face.

“She’s got you there, buddy. Abort mission, abort mission,” Rick whispered and unconsciously took a step backwards.

“Looks like my ride is here,” Magnum said, changing the topic, when he spotted the same pair of paramedics from yesterday approach them.

“Maybe you’ll get a discount for being a regular customer,” Higgins said with a smile. Magnum sighed heavily and prepared himself for the grueling cleaning of the wound again.


	6. Chapter 6

Another dose of pain medication had made him drowsy as he and Higgins waited for the doctor to return with the discharge papers. Daylight hadn’t broken through the windows yet, and Magnum badly needed some sleep. That idea was ruined when Katsumoto strolled up to them with a grim expression on his face and a clear evidence bag in his hand.

“You trust the Kapu to find a car and not the HPD? I’ll keep that in mind, especially when you come running for my help in the future,” the detective initiated when he came closer, holding up the bag containing Magnum’s phone.

“I was planning to share it with you, but then I got sidetracked,” Magnum said.

“Well, Kawika called you, they found the Cobalt downtown, lots of blood in the backseat. And Lieutenant MacReynolds also called you about that same car,” Katsumoto said and tossed the bag to Magnum.

“What did she say?” Magnum asked, sitting up straighter in the bed.

“She wouldn’t tell me, which makes me think it’s not completely legal,” Katsumoto replied and turned to Higgins. “Is that how he does his job as a PI? By having other people do the work for him?”

“I thought you knew that already?” Higgins replied with a smile.

“It’s cheating. You don’t earn that money,” the detective told the investigator.

“Oh, he doesn’t get paid in money. His clients pay him in chickens,” Higgins replied and Magnum seemed offended by the remark.

“Live chickens?” Katsumoto asked with a frown.

“That was only one time, Higgy, and I found a good home for Beaker and Chick Norris,” he protested. Katsumoto looked at him with a mixture of wonder and disbelief in his eyes before he shook his head to change the topic.

“Never mind. You might be right about the last two men from the first crew. A garbage truck picked up two bodies not long ago in Ala Moana. I’m just heading there now,” the detective informed them.

“The leader bragged about killing them,” Magnum thought out loud and continued. “You should probably skip breakfast before going. Got a feeling it won’t be pretty,” he warned the detective. The way the leader had talked about it with such glee, it gave him goosebumps again. Katsumoto looked at him for a brief moment.

“An officer will take you home and make sure you stay there. I swear, Magnum, I’ll have the Ferrari impounded, if necessary,” the detective cautioned.

“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere but my bed for the next twenty-four hours, trust me,” Magnum said and yawned for extra effect.

Later in the morning, right as Magnum’s head hit the pillow, he was sleeping. He had been somewhat comatose, on the drive home, his eyes drooping more and more as the last couple of days caught up with him. The physical strain from this morning alone had almost wiped him out. He handed his phone to Higgins, along with instructions on calling Josie and updating Katsumoto. He had avoided the assembly of Greene and the eight unknown men and gone straight to bed without even a word to any of his friends. He hadn’t even bothered to undress before closing his eyes with a brief thought of starfish and watermelons.

A chilled breeze stroked his bare back before a soft mumbling reached his ears under the pillow. He stirred slightly and sighed as a protest before burying his head deeper under the scrunched-up fabrics of the bed. He felt it dip when the owner of the mumbling sat down and gently removed the pillow from his head.

“Thomas? As good as this sleep is for you, you also need to eat and drink. You’ve been snoring for almost fifteen hours,” Higgins said softly.

“Fifteen hours?” Magnum asked as he pushed himself up on his elbows and turned to face Higgins with groggy eyes.

“Yes. And while you’re awake, you might want to grab a shower,” she continued and fluffed the pillow as she rose to her feet.

“Yes, ma’am,” Magnum replied with a sleepy grin and promptly received a pillow in the face as Higgins left the room. He rolled onto his back with a heroic effort as the stitches finally chased away the last bits of sleep from his foggy mind and heavy body.

A quick shower in hot water did him good and softened the tension in his muscles enough, so that he could walk almost normally to the kitchen from where he heard the low voices of his friends. His appetite had been dormant long enough to already be screaming at him when the first whiffs came his way. When he rounded the corner, all talking was paused and seven sets of eyes were sizing him up. Nine, if you included the two dogs who barely acknowledged him. Magnum paused halfway through a step, suddenly wary of all the people.

“What? Did somebody draw a mustache on my face?” he asked with a smile and placed his index finger under his nose to un-pause the people in front of him.

“How are you feeling?” TC asked from the corner of the table they had all assembled around. Magnum briefly scrutinized the pilot, noticing the furrow between the eyebrows and the tightness of the lips. Something had made the black man cagy since the last time he’d laid eyes on him.

“Actually, I’m feeling pretty good,” Magnum replied. It was almost the truth, though he was still a bit tired and sore. “What are you all doing here?” he asked and looked around at them as they unexpectedly looked down. When nobody replied Kumu moved from her chair.

“Come sit down, Magnum, I’ll fetch you something to eat,” the cultural curator said and moved to the kitchen area where the sound and smells of something cooking were coming from. He followed the older woman with his eyes as he walked to the vacated chair before they came to rest on the next moving object. Greene pushed away from the table with a nod and fixed his eyes on Magnum.

“My men are keeping the grounds a fortress. Two-man teams, three-hour rotations. You’ll be safe. I have to go, there’s a briefing in a couple of minutes. Good to see you right side up, Magnum,” the captain said before producing his cap out of nowhere and walking to the door.

“I should get going too, got a late shift. We’ll catch up later. Please, keep him out of trouble, guys,” Josie said with a stern look in the direction of Rick and TC. Her eyes fell on Magnum and she smiled softly. “Take care,” she said with a nod and turned. Magnum caught the brief exchange of a look between her and Higgins before the Lieutenant left.

Finally, Magnum eased down into a chair and pinned his eyes on his remaining friends at the table.

“What’s going on?” he asked, wary of the situation. Rick hadn’t said a word, which equated warning bells in Magnum’s mind. The somber look on Katsumoto’s face and the worry edged in Higgins didn’t make it better. How hadn’t he seen it before, he wondered.

“Someone got to Robin Masters yesterday. He’s in the hospital, in a drug induced coma,” Higgins said and almost visibly deflated afterwards. Magnum stared at her, as if she had grown two heads. He was startled when a plate of food was placed before him and a hand on his shoulder. Kumu sat down beside him. As appetizing as it had smelled earlier, Magnum suddenly had no interest in the sustenance.

A massive wave of thoughts and questions drowned his mind. Who? Related to their own situation? How? Gun, knife, poison… _worse_? Where? No one was supposed to know the authors whereabouts – currently, the very desolated cost of Scotland.

“I’ve arranged for personal security for as long as needed,” Katsumoto said and before he could continue Magnum interrupted.

“Were they caught? How did it happen?” Magnum asked with a piercing look at the detective.

“No, a couple of witnesses scared them of before they could finish the job. They are also the reason he’s still alive. Mr. Masters was strolling on a beach when two figures approached him. He was stabbed three times, before they took off. The witnesses were out birdwatching, called nine-nine-nine. Luckily, one of them was a doctor,” Katsumoto explained.

Magnum leaned back and crossed his arms sullenly, his eyes fixed on the plate before him as he thought.

“Obviously, this is connected to what happened here. We need to find out who’s behind this. And why,” Magnum said and pushed away from the table. “I need some air,” he said and walked to the open doors on the lanai. He heard a chair scrape the floor and seconds later Rick fell in step next to him.

“What are you planning to do?” the club owner asked quietly, when they had walked halfway to the water. It was dark, but the moon gave them enough light to sense where they stepped.

“I don’t know, man. As much as I want to, I know I can’t go there and guard him myself. The only option I have…“ Magnum was interrupted by a single word from Rick.

“We.” The two men paused their steps and glanced at each other. It was spoken matter-of-factly, like it wasn’t up for discussion, but it held so much more than just the two letters. A silent promise, that he would never be alone and that the people at the table in the guesthouse was behind him and always would be. He got the feeling, that a lot had happened between the little group in the fifteen hours he had been sleeping. Magnum nodded vaguely, accepting the unspoken offer of help, and they continued.

“The only option _we_ have is to find out who’s behind it all and make them pay,” the private investigator sighed. They walked a couple of seconds in silence.

“And, how do we find them? I’ve put word out to some people I know, but nothing has come back yet. Not even my man, Mamo, got anything,” Rick said, sounding a little disappointed.

“Mamo Kahike, the guy with the surfboards?” Magnum asked, a little puzzled.

“Yeah, he knows everything, especially if it happens on his part of the beach,” Rick said to a chuckling Magnum.

“You know he’s tight with Five-0, right?”

“Of course, something about him being close friends with the old McGarrett. I’ve heard some stories,” Rick confirmed with a grin as they paused to look out over the black water. The moon was quietly reflected on the moving waves. “Why don’t we head back to the others. There’s nothing more we can do today. He’s safe. You’re safe… Higgins’ safe,” Rick suggested and glanced at his friend. If it hadn’t been so dark, maybe Rick would have noticed how his friend vaguely tensed up at the mention of the majordomo’s name. He only had so much luck in protecting that woman.

The next morning, Magnum woke up at dawn. He felt rested, but uneasy after yesterday, still worrying about the owner of the estate. He quickly checked the dressing on the wound and dressed, before heading up to the main house in search of his usual accomplice. Higgins would already be up, probably had been for an hour, so he wasn’t surprised when he caught her coming out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other.

“I need a favor,” Magnum said and fell in step behind the blonde.

“Good morning to you, too, Magnum,” Higgins replied and sipped at the hot beverage.

“I thought about it, and I think I might know someone who can point us in the right direction,” Magnum continued, unfazed by her early morning antics. Abruptly, Higgins stopped and spun around, causing Magnum to almost collide with her.

“ _Us_? You do know there’s a squad of highly trained men out there, gunning for _the both of us_ , right? Or did they hit you in the head, too?” she asked and gesticulated with the mug, almost sending the coffee over the edges. Magnum took a step back, suddenly curious to what had caused the spitfire reaction. He paused. She paused. They searched each other’s eyes. Higgins realized what Magnum was thinking and quickly averted her eyes as she turned around and continued walking to her office.

“Higgy, are you… scared?” he asked and she continued a couple of steps without answering. He would never had expected to use those words in the same sentence to describe the woman before him. Not the stone-cold British woman with a dubious past as an MI6 operative.

Higgins reached the big table with minimal clutter, her desk, and sat both the tablet and the mug down before turning around to face her follower. The look in her eyes sent him back to the moment she had been hauled out the front door, tied up and bloody. Instantly he regretted his question. Higgins sighed and crossed her arms.

“Maybe a little,” she confessed. “I was almost snatched by a couple of amateurs, the property was overrun by ex-military, and Robin is in a coma. Forgive me for being a little wary,” she said and looked down at her feet. Derisive, would be the word, the private investigator decided. Magnum was quiet for a moment until he placed a hand on Higgins’ shoulder. Once again, he needed the grounding.

“So am I. Scared,” he confessed and immediately her eyes were back up, searching his. He didn’t look away. “But I can’t stay here and do nothing, not when I have the opportunity to actually tip the scales in our favor,” he explained. “I know you feel the same way… come on, help me out,” he coaxed. _I won’t let anything happen to you_ , he wanted to add. Seconds passed before Higgins sighed in defeat.

“What do you need?” she asked and turned towards the laptop on the table. His hand fell away from her shoulder, she wouldn’t admit it, but that, and simply his presence had been enough to make her shoulders feel lighter than they had been for days.

“Remember that time, when Willa trapped me and Luther in that storage locker?” Magnum began and Higgins smiled.

“Vividly,” she almost chuckled at the memory of the two private investigators, dressed in matching outfits on Kumu’s blue Vespa. Magnum rolled his eyes at her glee obvious glee.

“While we waited for you, Luther told me about one of his cases in which he had a suspect who owned a tiny military surplus store on the North Shore with a huge income. Any chance you could find out where it is and maybe look into those finances?” Magnum asked.

“Sure, but what does that have to do with our problem? Isn’t that a case for the IRS?” Higgins asked as she worked on locating said store.

“Yeah, but the point is, Luther said the store had an assortment of items for hunting and camping and stuff like that. But he also uncovered a secondary list of items of more illegal provenance, like scopes and silencers and more exotic merchandise,” he replied. Higgins paused her typing and looked over her shoulder.

“What, exactly, are you thinking, Magnum?”

“It might be nothing, but I think I saw one of those Israeli knives, before all the shooting started. Ari-something-or-other, I think,” came the answer, somewhat hesitant.

“Ari B’ Lilah? That’s definitely exotic. Should be impossible to get your hands on,” Higgins said and continued her typing.

“Alright, call me when you find something, I’m going up there,” Magnum said and headed towards the door.

“Wait a minute, are you going up there alone? To see a sketchy, at best, guy with a bunch of illegal weapons?” Higgins asked, her voice almost dripping with sarcasm. Magnum just smiled at her and kept walking.

“I can handle a single guy. Besides, what are the chances that our bad guys are there?” he called back over his shoulder.

“Magnum?!” the majordomo called back and he popped his head back into the office.

“Relax, I’ll call some back-up,” he said with a grin and left. He vaguely heard a sigh from behind him, but he only smiled the more and found his phone to make a call.

“Hi, it’s me. Do you want to come with me to see a man about a knife?”

“You do know normal people sleep at this hour, right?” Katsumoto mumbled into the phone.

“Yeah, but I figured you’d want in on the action. One time offer, I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes,” Magnum replied. He knew the detective wouldn’t pass, he would rather keep the private investigator in sight, than to let him roam free alone, wreaking havoc on the island. The detective huffed into the phone and Magnum could almost hear the man silently swear at him in frustration.

“Alright. Fifteen minutes,” Katsumoto replied.


	7. Missing scene

“How is he?” TC asked when we could finally head back to the guesthouse after hours of briefing with Greene and his men. Higgins had stayed to keep an eye on their hurting friend as he slept.

“Sleeping the sleep of the dead,” she replied and fell in step behind us as we walked to the room to check up on Magnum. I opened the door quietly and all three of us paused in the doorway.

“He looks exhausted,” I mumbled and TC hummed in acknowledgement.

“A little worse for wear,” Higgins said and I nodded.

“Rick, help me get him undressed?” TC asked and stepped into the room.

“Sure thing, buddy,” I replied and followed. Higgins subtly closed the door behind me, giving us the appropriate privacy. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time we had to deal with an unconscious friend, so it was with practiced ease that the white knight was taken care of. For once, I was grateful that Nuzo wasn’t here to see how bad Tommy was of. Not as bad as some of our days in the POW-camp, but this was another level of worry.

“Say what you want, but this man sure knows how to take a beating,” TC huffed, a little bit of anger in his voice. I shook out a blanket and draped it over my friend when TC had finished arranging the limbs, so they get even more sore, than they already looked. Thomas had slept through the whole ordeal, not even a groan when I had palpated the bruised jaw and hip bone.

“Is it just me, or has he been getting his ass kicked a lot more, since we moved to this island?” I asked when TC opened the door again and we walked out. I threw a last look at our boy before I closed the door and the two of us headed back out to the living room.

“Yeah, I was thinking that, too. But not all of it, is because his line of work, you should know that,” TC replied and I knew, he knew what I was thinking.

“Look, being a club owner can sometimes be sketchy, too, but I have some good door men to take care of stuff if need be,” I replied to the underlying comment when Higgins got to her feet again. Her face was all cringed up and it was evident, that she had just wiped her glistening eyes. The make-up was still perfect, but her whole demeanor had changed in the fifteen minutes they had been in the other room.

“Higgy, what’s wrong?” TC asked and was by her side in a second.

“I just got a call from Robin’s agent. He’s in the hospital with three stab wounds,” was her quick response.

“What?” I asked at the same time as TC. Never one to be surprised for long I quickly recovered to something alike anger. I didn’t need to take a look at TC to see he was going through the same thought process.

“He was transported to the nearest hospital just an hour ago and he’s still in surgery,” Higgins continued, already looking more composed. It was obvious, she cared for the reporter-turned-author, but we still didn’t know how the two of them were connected. Thomas had deduced that Robin owed her as well, in the same variety like us, but he’d never confirmed it.

“What are his chances?” TC asked, an instant before I almost blurted it out.

“The doctors are cautious, but I’ve been reassured that he’s in good hands. It might take some time, but expect him to recover if nothing happens in between. That’s all I know,” she replied.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked and TC heaved a sigh of frustration. Going to Scotland was almost certainly out of the picture.

“I’m going to make a call to Detective Katsumoto, explain the situation and have him make arrangement for security,” Higgins replied. “The proper way,” she added sternly when I was about to speak up.

“What about Thomas? He would want to know,” TC said and I shook his head.

“We’ll let him sleep for now, he definitely needs it. Nothing he can do either way,” I replied and TC sighed again as he moved to sit on the couch.

“See if he can learn anything from the police, maybe we can stitch together some clues,” I added for Higgins and she nodded before scrolling through her list of contacts. Seconds later, the dial tone was going through the room.

“ _Katsumoto,_ ” came the gruff answer and TC huffed with a little smile on his face.

“Detective, it’s Higgins. You’re on speaker with Rick and TC,” she explained and received nothing for a moment.

“ _Is everything okay?_ ” he asked carefully.

“Not everything. We need a favor, Detective,” Higgins replied, the uneasiness evident in her voice.

“ _That’s usually what Magnum says before doing something stupid… but go on,_ ” the detective said. Higgins recapped what she had just told us.


	8. Chapter 8

“Should be just up ahead on the right,” Katsumoto said while studying the map on his phone. He had been nagging the private investigator about their speed the whole trip, until they had both fallen silent, halfway there. Magnum pulled to the side and slowed to a stand-still.

“Right there, I see it. Doesn’t look like much,” he confessed. It was hard to stay positive on top of this week.

“Of course, it does. Normal business hours are not for another forty minutes,” the detective replied and eyes the store front. It wasn’t big, and certainly small enough to make him question the income. Higgins had forwarded him everything she had found on the place. He had to admit it; she was pretty resourceful.

“Then let’s go take a look,” Magnum said and the two of them exited the car.

“I’ll do the talking,” Katsumoto announced when they paused in front of the window. Magnum squinted an almost pressed his nose to the glass.

“I don’t think talking is an option anymore,” he said and shielded his eye sight with his hands. Katsumoto copied his motion and found a good angle through the glass. The only thing visible, which had alarmed Magnum, was part of a body, possibly dead, and blood. They could only see the legs, from the knee down, but blood was pooled on the floor and splattered on the wall behind.

Katsumoto briskly walked to the door with a hand on the butt of the gun when he gently pushed it open. Magnum followed him into the darkened shop and well-known stench of metallic blood. Somehow it felt even smaller than it looked from the outside. Undoubtedly, the dead body didn’t make it any better. One glance was enough for the private investigator, who had seen a lot of things in his life. This one topped the list.

“That’s our guy; Robert Price. I’ll call it in. Don’t touch anything,” Katsumoto said and actually stepped outside. He hadn’t even checked for a pulse. That wasn’t needed. Magnum let out a sigh and stepped closer, careful not to step in the blood. The chest was almost nonexistent, more stab wounds than a sponge had holes. Everything was dark red; it wasn’t possible to see what color the torn shirt had been before.

Magnum stepped back again, briefly thinking that this body was courtesy of the leader from the second team. The one who had expressed glee about murder and blood. Her scouted the ceiling for any cameras, but obviously didn’t find any, not with the big income of this shop. Next thing he checked was the floor, a good place to find dropped things, especially under counters and other furniture. In the corner he spotted a pair of scissors, just as red as the interior around the dead body. It could be the murder weapon.

He ambled towards the back room and saw nothing of significance. Not a hidden door or a secret room to support the theory of illegal sales. But the big safe in the corner was unlocked and pushed the door open with the toe of his shoe. He was staring at a whole lot of money; ten stacks on each of the two shelves, five bundles of hundred-dollar bills in each stack. Magnum let out a low whistle and walked back out to the front, where Katsumoto just finished his call.

“It was definitely not a robbery; thousands of dollars in the safe. And I think I found the murder weapon,” Magnum said and walked back inside with Katsumoto in tow. He pointed to the pair of scissors with a raised brow.

“Kind of ironic, don’t you think? You would think some of those exotic knifes, you were talking about, might be handy,” the detective said.

“Yeah, but I looked around. I think he has a secondary location for the more exclusive merchandise. But it looks like he kept all the money here,” Magnum said and looked around.

“We might be able to get a GPS history off of his phone or car. That way we can back trace it to where he keeps the other stuff,” Katsumoto said.

“Problem is, I don’t see any keys or phones around here,” Magnum interjected.

“A wallet, then. Credit card statement,” the detective suggested.

“In the back room, on the table in the corner,” Magnum explained and the two of them walked back there. Katsumoto produced a glove from his pocket and opened the wallet. He sighed.

“No credit card… twenty-three dollars and some change. Lots of receipts,” he said and displayed them on the table. Magnum looked over his shoulder and pointed.

“What’s that one, from Waimanalo?” he asked.

“Burger and fries at the Honolulu Polo Club from the day before yesterday,” the detective replied.

“That’s twenty minutes from here. Either that must be the best burger and fries on this island, or he had business in the area,” Magnum said.

“I’m going with option number two. The ponies don’t play on weekdays,” Katsumoto revealed and Magnum glanced at the man next to him.

“And how would you know that?” Magnum asked, a smirk plastered across his face. Katsumoto looked at him for a moment before heaving a sigh.

“My ex-wife’s brother plays polo. Every other weekend we drove up there to watch him ride. My son loved it,” he said, a hint of a smile ghosting his lips of the memory. Magnum didn’t reply, it wasn’t often that the detective voluntarily exposed something about his life. He was as much a mystery as how Robin knew Higgins.

“Let’s go check it out, then,” Magnum finally said and walked out of the room. He could feel Katsumoto following him.

“We can’t,” he said and Magnum turned around to face him with furrowed brow. “Contrary to you, I can’t just leave a murder scene,” he said and continued, when Magnum was about to interrupt. “And, no, you are not going anywhere alone. Everybody agreed on that,” the detective quickly said in a way that didn’t leave room to argue.

“Everybody? Hold on, did you all gang up on me, while I was sleeping yesterday?” Magnum asked, trying to sound a little offended. Katsumoto looked at him, a serious expression on his face.

“Yeah. Yeah, we did. You have a penchant to finding trouble wherever you go, case in point,” he said and gestured to the dead body. “So, you stay put, until I’m ready to leave, got it?” Katsumoto asked, though it felt more like an order. Magnum sighed and nodded.

“Fine, I’ll stay. But do you mind if I wait outside?” he asked and with the detective’s affirmation he stepped out into the sunshine.

A whole hour later the two of them parked at the entrance to the polo club’s cafeteria. It doubled as a high-class café for people passing through and had very good reviews online. And the prices to match. Magnum looked around as Katsumoto headed for the door.

“You coming?” the detective asked with a hand on the door. Magnum scrunched his nose and shook his head.

“You go ahead, I’ll take a look at the stables. Come find me, when you’re done,” he said and walked in the opposite direction. For a few moments he was sure that Katsumoto would call him back and chew him out for venturing off alone, but nothing happened except for a door being opened and shut.

Magnum turned a corner with signs pointing in the different directions. Stables on the right, arena on the left. Loading ramps, paddocks and maintenance straight ahead, behind some old trees and shrubbery. He paused, briefly wondering where someone might keep weapons. A shed or a barn would be appropriate. Stables and arena had too many people through the day.

Strolling ahead, with his hands in his pockets, he passed the trees and his demeanor shifted. A couple of workers were hovering around a tractor, discussing the current problem with the engine. Magnum walked straight to the barn door, as if he knew exactly where he was going. Most people wouldn’t question a confident man.

Once inside behind closed doors he let out a breath. The two men had eyed him carefully but not intervened.

“Can I help you?” a voice asked from the corner. Magnum turned towards it and his eyes fell on a giant of a man in the shadows. Thinking quick, Magnum looked around, curiously. He was burly, with a lot of mass and probably slow on any form of physical uptake, and definitely not a horse-man, too clean and well-dressed. Almost suit and tie, except nobody wears ties in Hawaii, unless attending a formal event. Complete opposite of the guys by the tractor. A couple of tattoos above his collar and under his sleeves were visible. Standing in front of an armchair, with a little table and a minifridge in the corner he looked all the more massive.

“Yeah, maybe. Bobby sent me to make sure everything was alright down here. He’s got a big client coming tomorrow, so he wanted it all to be spotless,” Magnum improvised. It was a lucky guess, that Robert Price went by Bobby. The man certainly didn’t look any more suspicious than he already was, as he walked closer.

“Huh. He didn’t tell me about that,” the big man said when he stopped a few feet from Magnum.

“I’m sure he’ll come around to it when he gets a minute. I only just found out myself,” Magnum replied and stood his ground.

“And you are..?” the big man asked, looming above him. He crossed his arms and held his head high enough to look down his nose. Magnum realized he might have gotten in a little over his head.

“You can call me Marty. I’m a friend of Bobby’s. I promised to do him a favor, so here I am,” Magnum said, but didn’t offer the big man his hand.

“Huh,” he said again and visibly eying him up and down. “Armed?” he asked and Magnum shook his head.

“Didn’t think I needed to be. Do you mind? I actually got other places to be,” Magnum replied, doing his best to sound impatient. The man took a step back, gesturing with a nod of his head and followed right behind him as he walked with purpose to the nearest door. “The lack of security is a little surprising,” he said, trying to make the impromptu interrogation sound like small-talk. It was obvious, that this guy was the only guard around.

“More people create more curiosity,” the big man only answered, still breathing down Magnum’s neck as he stopped at the door. He tried the handle, but the door didn’t budge. It was a solid steel door, with no keyhole and Magnum’s eyes landed on the metal plate in eye-height right next to the door. “He didn’t give you an access card?” the big man asked, a snarl curling his lips.

“No, Bobby said you had one, so that I wouldn’t have to drop by the shop,” Magnum said and instantly knew he had said something wrong, judging by the big man’s crazy sneer. He leaned forward and reached an arm out in front of Magnum who carefully took a step back. The man gave the metal plate a push and then he flipped it open to revel a key pad. Definitely no card reader. Definitely in over his head.

“Who the hell are you?” the big man asked menacingly as Magnum took another cautious step back. The big man followed suit.

“Just looking for some information about a knife,” Magnum said before the first swing came at him. Unsurprisingly, it was a slow move, starting all the way behind the man’s shoulder, so it gave Magnum plenty of time to dodge out of the way, but the movement jarred through his wound and left him momentarily breathless.

“Yeah? The only thing, you’ll find here, is a massive headache,” his opponent replied and stepped closer with another slow blow.

“Actually, I was looking for someone with a very special knife…” he stopped abruptly when a meaty fist closed around his throat and he was pushed up against the wall. “… and I think he got it from Bobby before he killed him,” he choked out while clawing at the hand. In that moment light spilled in on them as Katsumoto opened the door.

“Police! Let him go!” Katsumoto took in the whole scene. Magnum was pinned against the wall, with a foot of air under his feet. The hired muscle was comparable to a tank and dressed like a wannabe security guy. Magnum’s eyes fleeted to Katsumoto as he locked his hands onto the wrist of the big man. The only thing he could hear was the muffled yell over the thundering pulse in his ears. “Drop him, or I drop you!” the detective incentivized again, this time not raising his voice.

The man thought for a moment before letting the investigator fall to the floor. Magnum almost fell in a graceless heap on the ground if not for the wall behind him. He coughed and spluttered with a hand clamped over his agonizing ribs as the cloudiness disappeared from his vision.

Katsumoto had the man lying face down on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back before shooting a strange look at Magnum.

“I’m fine,” Magnum ground out hoarsely and waved him off as he got back on his feet and cleared his throat one last time. “You know who killed Robert Price, right?” he asked the big man, who just nodded somberly. Maybe he had missed something when he had been busy coughing up his lungs before, but a single firm nudge from the detective’s shoe was enough to get the man talking.

“Last week, Bobby met with this guy who wanted something really special. Deal was made, money swapped hands and all parties concerned left on their own two feet. He had two guys with him and called one of them Howler, that’s all I know,” he rambled of and huffed annoyedly.

“Where wad the deal made?” Katsumoto asked sternly, already waiting for a call to connect. Magnum figured he was calling the station with an update and more orders.

“An empty field about thirty minutes north of here. Flat land everywhere. Nothing up there but dirt and more dirt,” the guy grunted.

“If the deal was good, then why is Robert Price dead?” Magnum asked and the big guy shrugged as much as the cuffs would let him.

“Maybe the guy doesn’t like loose ends,” Katsumoto suggested and stared pointedly at the man by his feet. Magnum rubbed the back of his neck and suddenly felt uneasy. The alternative was, that they were up against someone smart, who knew Magnum would go investigate and therefore walk right in to a trap.

“I hope so,” he said quietly and squinted briefly at the door.

“How did you all get to the field?” Katsumoto asked after scrutinizing Magnum’s face.

“By car. Separately. They had a new and shiny black Yukon. Didn’t see the plates,” came the reply, followed by another huff. Magnum walked a few steps back and Katsumoto followed.

“What are you thinking?” the detective asked when Magnum looked around aimlessly.

“I’m not sure,” Magnum confessed.

It was almost noon when he returned to the estate. Higgins came out to greet him as he exited the car. It was amazing what a little subtle make up could do for the bruises on her face, Magnum realized when she walked sternly towards him with the two dogs right on her heels.

“Did you learn anything?” she asked in a no-nonsense voice.

“Nothing Katsumoto hasn’t already told you,” Magnum replied and started walking around the main house. Higgins followed closely behind and the dogs flanked her.

“Well, I can see you haven’t shared your thoughts with him, yet,” she prodded and Magnum chuckled.

“How can you see that?” Magnum asked and briefly looked over his shoulder.

“That line between your eyebrows. The deeper it is, the more you haven’t shared,” Higgins summed up and Magnum unwillingly felt for the line.

“Are you saying I have wrinkles?” the investigator asked and turned around. “Or am I actually that easy to see through?” Higgins paused and sighed.

“I’m saying that I know you well enough to know when something’s bugging you. And this,” she gestured vaguely in the direction of Magnum. “is screaming for a sparring partner, so, what’ve you got?” she asked and looked at him expectantly. Magnum briefly pondered the offer before turning around.

“I’ve got a couple of beers in the fridge,” he called over his shoulder and shortly after she fell in step at his side.


	9. Chapter 9

It was supposed to have been easy going. But instead everything had failed miserably. He savored another sip of the tumbler’s content, the Macallan Lalique fifty-five-year-old single malt scotch whiskey. It suited his greying hair to stand by the windows and look out over the sea. Pondering while he balanced on the gently tipping floor. He was an impressive figure for his sixty-two summers and winters. Still standing tall and proud of his physical fitness which rivalled that of his employees only half his age. His people were normally so competent, but these three mishaps were beginning to dictate their future of breathing.

How hard could it be, it was just one simple author and a couple of staffs. Regardless, these two were a pain in the neck, not your typical gardener or maid. But that shouldn’t have played a role in Scotland with the most important cog in the wheel. Instead, the man wasn’t dead yet. Which was very much a problem. And the two others had proved to be a little bit harder to capture, even when thought to be sleeping.

All this for what he didn’t want to be leaked to the world. By his own son, no less. Tobias had betrayed him and everything he thought he had imprinted on the kid, since birth. Having made the decision to have him executed had been one of the easiest in his life.

Curtis Henderson hadn’t always despised his own flesh and blood. But the twenty-three-year-old had almost stabbed him in the back and twisted the knife for good measure, figuratively speaking, of course, Tobias couldn’t whack a spider even if it bit him. Fundamentally, this was also why he had made it his mission to bring Curtis down. Because the old man had no morals regarding the nature of his business and the people it affected.

He had been in the business for almost four decades now. Tobias had been groomed for this but mostly kept in the dark until about a couple of years ago, when he had realized the truth about his father’s wealth and where it came from. Since then, he had secretively collected proof of every wrong doing and been in contact with a journalist turned bestselling author to expose Curtis Henderson to the world.

It had been three months since his son had revealed his plan, although by accident, and one month had passed since his untimely demise. The chief of his security detail, Luke Reeves, had been the one to take care of the young man and he had done so with glee in his eyes. Like a child at Christmas morning when spotting all his presents.

Things had moved slow in the last three months. Locating said author hadn’t been as easy as uncovering his massive estate. The world had suddenly turned a lot smaller when he realized it was in his own backyard, no less. Of course, surveillance had uncovered a lot of staff, but the owner himself was either a total recluse or not on the property. Another part, that had been quite frustrating was, the security. The two Dobermans had an air of viciousness around them and would certainly prove a challenge to slip by.

Four people had been the topic of various discussions, because of their background. Three of them was part of the special operations team in Iraq, which the then journalist had been imbedded with. He couldn’t exactly find a connection between the woman and the author, but the British operator had an impressive jacket on her.

For people like Curtis Henderson, obtaining information like that was as easy as falling off a log. He knew the right people could be bought for the right amount of money. Everything had a price. Another sip of the whiskey burned his throat and he smacked his lips as he stared out over the water with a sigh. With his luck, he needed to step things up and get it done for himself. A plan was taking form in his mind as he exited the room in search of the bridge. He needed to get back to shore. The few days he had planned to spend on his yacht had to wait.

Luke had been in a foul mood the whole week and he let out his frustrations on the heavy sandbag in front of him. First, his employer had outsourced his job to four petty amateurs. The only upside to that catastrophe had been the brutal murder of half the crew. A smile crept across his sweating face. Then, in his haste to make up for lost time, him and his guys had failed the second attempt. He could take a little blame for that disaster – he had been too rushed and the SEAL had some brass going up against the six men. Another angry punch almost moved Shorty a whole foot backwards as he kept his weight behind the bag. Luke wouldn’t underestimate that man again. Next time would be easier. He paused an signaled a switch with his sour-looking friend behind the bag. Next time, his team would be even better prepared. His mind and eyes drifted over the men in the tiny home-gym on his employer’s yacht.

With his background as a MARSOC-operator, he had out-punched the already wounded SEAL fairly easily. And his guys were almost as good as himself and his second in command, Shorty. He wasn’t short per say, average height for a man in the states. But the rest of the team were all taller than Shorty, who liked the nickname a whole lot better than his actual name; Rufus Bates.

He had a somewhat questionable background that nobody really knew. But everybody knew of the body count linked to the man. That number was even higher than that of Luke Reeves. And where the team leader preferred a blade, Shorty was rumored to be undefeated in no-weapon-hand-to-hand-combat.

As proficient as Shorty was in close quarters, Birdie had supreme skills with a long gun. Tyler Farrington, one of those rough, silent types had been runner up at the Wimbledon Cup almost a decade ago when he was still in the marines. Since then he had sharpened his skills and gained his nickname by practicing on living, flying birds. With every true kill he had muttered ‘bye, bye, birdie’ with a victorious grin.

With an impressive lumberjack figure, Owen Callaghan towered over them all at 6 feet and 5 inches. The ginger was British, with some Irish or Scottish ancestry and he had been known as Red since his days in the Special Boat Service. Normally, he didn’t sound British, only when angry or under pressure, he let the accent reappear. He required a whole different set of weapons, since any regular gun was dwarfed in his saucepan-sized hands.

Another ex-military man was Phillip Brookes, also known as Texas. Almost as tall as Red, but more cowboyish with his gangly legs. He had grown up on a Texan ranch and had mustered out of the army rangers only a few years ago. He was the newest recruit to the team.

The last on the team was Howler, real name Jonathan Bishop. He was as jumpy as a squirrel on speed, always drinking energy drinks or coffee and smoking or chewing nicotine gum. Due to his jittery nature he was highly reliably in a gunfight and despite the nicotine and caffeine in his blood he never missed his target.

All in all, they were an impressive team. Fit, capable, terrorizing. And yet they had failed because of one man. A series of dings and hums sounded through the gym and its occupants paused their workouts to look at their phones.

“We’re going back to shore, guys, let’s get cleaned up,” Luke said as they all read the message from their employer, Curtis Henderson.

Robin’s Nest was big, but with the extra manpower for security it felt positively cramped on this sunny afternoon. Even the little stretch of beach had an armed guard roaming in the sand. It almost disturbed her view. Higgins took in a deep breath and gracefully contorted her body into a pretzel on a yoga mat. She could sense a couple of the men starring at her from a distance as she breathed out ever so slowly and shook her hair away from her eyes. She wasn’t sure if they were staring at her in fascination and curiosity or eyeing her because she was one of the few women on the property. She changed to another challenging pose and heard the familiar strolling steps coming towards her from behind.

“Thought I might find you here,” Magnum said and paused, waiting for the majordomo to uncurl. She could almost hear the confounded expression on his face as she let herself down on her knees and turned around to face him. She shook out her hands and arms and curiously cocked her head.

“This is were I am at this time of day, every day, Magnum. Surely, even you would have figured that out by now?” she said with a small smile.

“Which is why this was the first place I looked,” he countered and handed her the bottle of water he had brought. “I might be the cheapest private investigator on the island, but I’m actually pretty good at what I do,” he continued. Higgins accepted the bottle of chilled water and savored the coolness in her throat.

“You’re going out?” she said, more as a statement than a question and Magnum nodded.

“Got a missing persons case. A twenty-three years old, no sign of him for the last month. The father called me out to a meeting,” Magnum informed her. She scrunched up her face and was about to reply when he continued. “Don’t worry, TC’s coming with me,” he reassured her.

“Good. But what I was going to say was how awful it must be to be a parent in such a situation. I can hardly imagine the not knowing eating you from within,” she replied.

“Yeah, it must be hell,” Magnum agreed and crossed his arms, contemplating. “It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours, but just in case, do you mind being on standby for some background information?” Magnum asked and Higgins nodded even before he had finished the sentence. He knew she wouldn’t hesitate to help him with a case like this, so there was no need to bribe, negotiate or otherwise charm her into helping him.

“Of course, anything you need,” she said needlessly as she set aside the bottle of water.

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” he said honestly. “Also, I talked with Rick and he can clear his schedule and be here in fifteen minutes, if you need to go somewhere,” he informed her and she nodded meekly. He turned and started walking away.

Higgins didn’t like being chaperoned around anymore than Magnum did, she was sure. It was a moot point, that she also needed a babysitter, since she actually was capable of steering clear of any trouble, unlike Magnum. But she didn’t argue, it helped ease their minds, knowing that they had someone watching their backs.

“Thomas,” she called softly after him and he turned around to face her. “Be careful.”

“Always,” he replied with a grin and walked away. Higgins hesitated for a moment. Maybe this wasn’t the best timing to take on a new case. This one would certainly have him running around the island. And with a target on his back, no less. She returned to her yoga, but couldn’t quite ease her mind back to focus on it.

“I think all this might be getting to her,” Magnum speculated out loud as he and TC made their way to one of the blue picnic tables in front of the yellow food truck that belonged to Kamekona. When his new client had asked where to meet, this was the place that came to mind, and they even had a few minutes to spare.

“Of course, it would,” TC commented and lowered his body down on a bench. “Only an insane person would not be affected,” he continued and eyed his friend carefully. “Don’t tell me ‘you’re fine’, that you’re all good with this situation?” Magnum shrugged and sighed.

“I’m more worried about Robin and Higgins,” he confessed and took in his surroundings.

“Than your own survival,” TC echoed Magnum’s thought and received another noncommittal shrug. It was true. He had been through enough to last him the rest of his nine cat-lives. He could handle it. Sure, it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience, but the thought of Higgins in the same situation outright scared him. She didn’t deserve anything like that. Magnum sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don’t know…” he said, not knowing how to express his concerns.

“All we can do is take it a day at a time and hope for the best. Robin’s Nest is locked down as tight as Fort Knox and we’ve got Robin covered by Scotland Yard,” TC said and studied his friend. “And if anybody wants a piece of you or Juliet, they’ll have to go through me and Rick first,” the pilot announced to what Magnum could only smile in appreciation. His attention jumped to the older man walking towards their table with a purpose in his steps.

“I think this is it,” he said and got to his feet to greet his new client.

“Mr. Magnum, I presume?” the older man asked as they shook hands. The private investigator nodded in the affirmative and couldn’t help but think he needed to salute the man with a sharp ‘yes, sir’ rolling off his tongue. Magnum would have guessed the man to be in the mid-fifties, but still fit and active with greying hair and a sharp suit. For all intense and purposes, he looked like a distinguished gentleman, even with the lines of worry edging his eyes.

“Mr. Henderson, this is my friend, TC. He’s going to be another set of hands on this case,” Magnum explained as the pilot greeted the older man. “Have a seat, please, and tell us about your son,” he continued and gestured to the bench.

“Tobias is my everything. His mother passed only a week after his birth, so it has always just been the two of us. I made sure he had all the opportunities in the world, great schools, tutors, friends, sports, everything,” Curtis started out with a shimmer in his eyes. Magnum threw a glance at TC and their eyes met for a moment before the story continued. “The softest soul you’d ever find, always helping out. He spends a lot of time volunteering. Nursing homes, animal shelters, clinics,” a sigh escaped from Curtis and he dropped his eyes. “Three months ago, he started acting strange. Changed into a whole other person. The volunteering stopped, he stopped seeing his friends and would spend most of his time on his computer or the storage facility.”

“Did anything happen around that time?” Magnum interrupted, already running through possibilities in his mind. The father shook his head in the negative and shrugged.

“I thought, I knew him, but obviously…” he trailed off with another shrug and locked his eyes onto Magnum. “A month ago, when he left, I thought he just needed some time and space to sort out whatever was bugging him, but I haven’t seen or heard anything from him since then. I beg of you, Mr. Magnum, please,” unspoken words hang between them and Magnum nodded reassuringly.

“I’ll do what I can, Mr. Henderson, I promise,” Magnum answered and he could feel TC shifting beside him, uneasily. “If you write down the address of the storage facility, we’ll go check it out right now,” he continued and the older man nodded as he reached into the chest pocket on his jacket.

“I think this is it,” the man said as he handed a worn pamphlet over the table. It advertised lots of storage to favorable money.

“I would also like to swing by and see his room, possibly borrow his computer, if you don’t mind,” Magnum continued.

“Of course, you’re welcome, any time of day,” Henderson agreed and the three of them moved to stand, in collective agreement that the meeting was over.

“Thank you. I’ll call you when I find something, Mr. Henderson,” Magnum said before the old man turned and walked away. Magnum and TC slowly made their way to TC’s van, contemplating the new information.

“ _When_ you find something?” TC looked at him as if he was crazy. “You really think that highly of yourself? Do you actually realize how much you depend on all of your friends to do your job?” TC huffed when he unlocked his van.

“What do you mean?” Magnum asked with a smug grin and looked at the pamphlet again.

“You’re lucky you’re so… likable,” the big pilot grumbled as he pulled the door shut with a grimace. “I got a bad feeling about this guy,” he then confessed and the two of them looked on as Mr. Henderson entered a black town car. The driver looked huge with the ginger hair almost brushing the roof of the car. The other man of average height closed the back door after Mr. Henderson before seating himself in the front passenger seat. Magnum was positive that the man was eyeing him as they drove away.

“He’s just looking for his son. Let’s go check out this place,” Magnum replied and gestured with the pamphlet.


	10. Chapter 10

Magnum and TC had taken one look at the storage facility and considered it too busy for them to fumble with the padlock in broad daylight. So instead, they headed to the residence of Curtis Henderson to take a look at the young man’s room.

“What exactly, is it you do, Mr. Henderson?” Magnum asked when they were being shown through the excessive mansion-like villa. Not quite like Robin’s Nest, but it still reeked of money.

“I’m in pharmaceuticals. Mainly, medicine, vaccines and therapeutic vaccines,” the man replied as he paused before a closed door at the end of the hallway. He pushed the door open and revealed a room with not a single thing out of place. Magnum passed the old man and started snooping around. Every book was standing straight, no trinkets or knickknacks cluttering the surfaces. He got the impression, that Tobias was a neat freak.

“Therapeutic vaccines?” TC asked, sounding a bit skeptical, as he stopped in the doorway.

“Yes, well, you see, traditional vaccines are administered before exposure and fabricated to prevent certain diseases. Therapeutic vaccines are administered after exposure when the patient is confirmed to have said disease,” came the response. Magnum was checking all the spots he thought would be a good place to hide anything, while listening to the two men speaking.

“So, it’s a cure?” TC simplified and Henderson shrugged in the negative.

“Not so much as it just dampens the affect of the disease. Trials show an 80% drop in viral levels – the amount of virus in the blood,” Henderson replied and sighed. “I fear, it will just prolong the life of the patient,” he said and perked up again. “But we’re still working on it and we see progress every once in a while.” Magnum was now standing in the middle of the room and looking around. He’d found nothing, at least not anything that seemed out of place. Even the clothes on the shelves and in the drawer were next to color coordinated. He grabbed the laptop from the desk and returned to the door with a last glance around.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Henderson,” Magnum said and TC briefly searched his face.

“You’re very much welcome. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask,” the older man replied as Magnum shook his hand.

“I’ll call you with an update, when I got something. Have a good night, Mr. Henderson,” Magnum replied and five minutes later he and TC were driving away.

“You got that look on your face, TM. What’s going on in that head of yours?” the pilot asked, dividing his attention between the road and his friend. Magnum shrugged and sighed.

“I don’t know, exactly. I guess… it’s just a feeling… I don’t…” Magnum trailed off and looked to the laptop on the seat between them before redirecting his eyes to the sideview mirror and then the road ahead of them. TC glanced at him again, cautious lines edging his face but let the topic drop. Magnum would tell, whenever he figured it out, he was sure.

“Higgins? Where are you? I need your help,” Magnum called out when he walked through the main house, heading straight for her office with the laptop under his arm. He turned a corner and almost backtracked when the two Dobermans looked ready to pounce on him. “Good boys, stand down,” he placated them and looked around for their owner, while holding the laptop in front of him like a shield. “Higgy?” he called and tried to edge around the two hounds of hell without losing a limb. “Higgins?” he tried again and almost breathed a sigh of relief when she appeared in the next doorway and snapped her fingers. The dogs instantly sneaked to her side and promptly sat down.

“Magnum, we need to talk about Greene and his men. I think we need to revise this strategy,” she said, unperturbed by his stand-off with her four-legged friends.

“You need to get those animals under control. Someday, they might actually maim someone,” Magnum said sternly and glanced at the hellhounds, completely disregarding her suggestion about the current presence on the property.

“Don’t be silly, Magnum. They’ll only attack when told or when they feel a danger,” the majordomo replied with a smirk and crossed her arms.

“Then why do they always look ready to tear my arms off?” he asked and motioned her to the nearby table with the laptop. She didn’t reply, but walked to the desk. Clearly, she hadn’t forgotten about her own objective. The dogs stayed on the floor.

“What’ve you got there?” she asked when he pushed it across to her and she flipped it open.

“Belongs to Tobias Henderson. I need you to look for anything that might explain something,” Magnum said and almost hovered behind her shoulder. Higgins paused and turned around to scrutinize the private investigator.

“Something?” she asked curiously but returned to the screen when Magnum shrugged.

“When I searched his bedroom, everything was… weird. It looked like it was all just for show. Everything was neat and tidy. Nothing under the bed,” Magnum explained with a halfhearted shrug. Higgins looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Is it so unfathomable, that a young man can manage to not make a mess in his living quarters?” she asked confused. Magnum tilted his head.

“The father said, it hadn’t been touched in three months. And I found not even a speck of dust on any surface,” he explained further and Higgins made a curious sound as she got to work on the computer.

“That’s strange…” she mumbled as her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Magnum leaned closer and was about to ask, when she volunteered the information.

“It has been wiped. There’s nothing on this laptop,” Higgins said. Magnum’s brow furrowed and he straightened up to think.

“Can you do a background check on this kid?” he asked and Higgins nodded, already typing quickly on her own laptop. “I need to get into that storage facility,” he mumbled quietly when Higgins adjusted the screen.

“Mother died soon after birth, raised by his father. Looks like a good kid on paper, nothing out of the ordinary,” she half-turned in the chair and looked up at the private investigator. “Penny for your thought?” she asked with a raised eyebrow and Magnum scratched the back of his neck as he blew out a sigh.

“Why would the father wait a whole month to start searching for his son?” he asked instead and Higgins shrugged.

“Maybe he thought the kid was just staying with friends or something?” she asked but Magnum shook his head thoughtfully.

“And his driver and PA were…” Magnum searched for the word. “… fishy,” he decided. “Can you do a background check on Curtis Henderson? On the road?” he asked and she looked a question at him. “I need to see what the kid’s got stored away,” Magnum said and Higgins go to her feet.

“Let’s get going then,” she only replied and unplugged her laptop. She handed the kid’s laptop back to Magnum. “And while we’re driving, we might as well discuss the current situation with all this superfluous manpower guarding the estate,” she continued as they walked to the Ferrari.

“You think it’s a little over the top?” Magnum asked, curiously as he turned on the engine. The Ferrari purred and he put on his seatbelt.

“I think,” Higgins began, as she mirrored his movement with the seatbelt, “that the general staff might be a little, what’s the word… apprehensive, yes, with coming to work. And, frankly, it isn’t exactly a welcome distraction these men provide when traipsing through the property, armed to the teeth,” she pointed out. Granted, she felt more secure, but this was getting ridiculous. Magnum glanced across her, as he eased into the street, and nodded.

“How about I have a talk with Captain Greene tomorrow morning? I think, maybe, we’ve scared them off for a while, anyway,” Magnum said, thinking back to the group of six men that had sieged the property yesterday morning. With two failed attempts, they surely must realize Robin’s Nest was too much of a handful. Even with the probable military experience the team had all but boasted with.

“Fair enough,” Higgins replied with a curt nod and began her task on her tablet, while the laptop balanced on her knees. “Curtis Henderson from Cincinnati, aged sixty-two, founder and CEO of a billion-dollar company that specializes in pharmaceuticals. Married once to a Marlene Henderson from San Francisco, died after childbirth. One son, Tobias Henderson, not a single parking ticket to his name,” she rattled off and Magnum knitted his eyebrows together.

“With a company like that, he’s bound to have made some enemies, right? Competitors, disgruntled ex-employees, animal rights-activist, unsatisfied customers?” he asked and Higgins shook her head in the negative.

“Nothing on record. Totally spotless,” she replied, but kept on digging through the internet.

“Nothing at all?” Magnum asked, growing more confused by the mile.

“Maybe… I’m trying to access the autopsy report of the wife,” Higgins said and Magnum glanced at the tablet shortly.

“She died a week after giving birth, what would that have to do with anything? It was twenty-three years ago,” he said.

“And yet, there was an autopsy,” Higgins said triumphantly and briefly looked up to orientate herself. “Cause of death is listed as stroke… there were no complications during the birth, no hereditary ailments or sickness. It says here, that Marlene Henderson was a strong and healthy woman.” Magnum sighed and turned left. “With a lot of old bone fractures, though. The last one’s estimated to have happened less than a year earlier. None of them was treated” she added.

“Can you find any police reports on domestic disturbance from that time?” Magnum asked her and she shook her head again.

“No, there’s nothing connected to their names,” Higgins replied.

“What about Tobias?” he asked and Higgins glanced at him.

“What about him?” she asked back.

“He was volunteering at nursing homes and animal shelters. Why would a kid like that just disappear?” Magnum thought aloud.

“Are you thinking, he wouldn’t?”

“Something’s not right,” the private investigator agreed as he pulled to the side of the road. The storage facility was up on their left, completely empty except for a dark grey truck parked outside the office on the corner. The two of them fell into silence as they watched on for a couple of minutes. The sun was getting low behind them and traffic on the street was almost nonexistent. Magnum’s thoughts fell on the previous morning, the conversation between him and the leader of the group.

“They knew…” he mumbled under his breath and Higgins, who had gotten comfortably still, turned to face him with questions written in her eyes.

“Who? What?” she asked.

“Those men, they knew about us. As MI6-operative and Navy SEAL. The only way to know stuff like that, is with a high-level clearance or if someone told them,” Magnum explained and Higgins caught on, quickly.

“If we can get a list of the people, who searched our record, maybe we can find a name in common,” Higgins said, evidently hyped up. “I’ll call Josie, immediately,” she continued and Magnum looked at her with surprise edged in his face.

“What, wait, hold on a minute,” Magnum said with a hand in the air. “Did you hijack my source when I was sleeping, yesterday?” he asked with a dubious grin on his face.

“Maybe I did?” Higgins replied with a shrug and a smile.

“Maybe you did,” Magnum echoed and chuckled. “But I think we need someone with a higher clearance,” he continued.

“Like who?” Higgins asked and Magnum found his phone. He punched in a phone number from memory, hoping it hadn’t changed. The call connected and there was a rustle on the line before the voice answered.

“ _Yes?_ ” Rough, deep voice with a tinge of age, but still full of authority.

“Scotty, I need a favor,” Magnum only said and the response was instant.

“ _Long time, no hear, kid,_ ” the voice said with warmth but turned all business again. “ _What do you need?_ ”

“A list of who accessed my jacket,” Magnum said and paused as if waiting for the other man to write down a list of groceries.

“ _And?_ ”

“Same goes for a friend of mine,” Magnum continued and paused again.

“ _Name?_ ”

“Juliet Higgins, MI6,” the private investigator replied and continued. “How long will it take?”

“ _An hour, no more than two. I might have to wake some people up,_ ” the old voice said.

“Great. Give me a call when you’ve got it,” Magnum said and ended the call with a perplexed Higgins next to him.

“And who might that be?” she asked, astonishment evident in both her face and voice.

“Scott Campbell, he’s an old friend. Sort of like an older version of Rick, but with a lot more pull,” Magnum shrugged and ended the topic there. Higgins sat back in her seat and looked at the storage facility but didn’t ask any further questions.

“He’s closing up,” she said instead and nodded to the middle-aged man exiting the office and locking the door. Shortly after, he walked to the street and set of in the other direction.

“If that isn’t his truck, someone must still be in there,” Magnum thought aloud.

“Well, we can’t wait here all night, besides, it’s been parked there for a while anyway,” Higgins replied. “Maybe, the owner was picked up by a friend, or something.”

“Maybe,” Magnum agreed and silently the two of them agreed to go in. They were about to open the doors when Magnum paused his partner with a hand on her arm. “We’ll let the car pass,” he said and looked on in the sideview mirror as a dark colored town car slowed and turned into the parking lot in front of the storage facility. It parked next to the dark grey truck, engine idling for a few moments before it was turned off and the driver’s door opened. Magnum looked on in disbelief as the driver stepped out and looked around.

“Magnum, what’s wrong?” Higgins asked when she noticed his changes demeanor.

“That Curtis Henderson’s driver,” he replied and Higgins looked at the red-haired Hulk, as he walked to the trunk of the car. “What’s he doing?” Magnum asked no one in particular. The man messed around for a minute before lifting out a black briefcase, one of those with silver edges. He locked the car and strolled around the office on the corner and out of sight. “Can you pull up all close employees of Curtis Henderson. Assistants, secretaries, security,” he asked without taking his eyes of the corner. Higgins grunted in the affirmative and was quiet for a few moments.

“He has a rather hefty team of security for his home… Almost twenty men on his payroll,” Higgins said and Magnum glanced at the tablet again.

“Why would he need so much security? You said it yourself, totally spotless,” Magnum wondered.

“The driver’s name is Owen Callaghan, he has a background in the SBS,” the majordomo surmised from what she was reading.

“Really? Alright, first, why does Curtis Henderson employ ex-military for his personal security?” Magnum asked, now even more thoroughly confused. “And second, why is the driver bringing a briefcase to the storage facility, where Tobias Henderson is a customer?”

“Something’s not right,” Higgins parroted Magnum’s earlier statement.

“Let’s go check it out,” the private investigator said and reached for his weapon under the seat. He stuffed it into the small of his back and covered it with his shirt. The two of them finally got out and crossed the road. The primary plan had been to look through the office for any record belonging to Tobias Henderson and then find out which unit he rented. Now the plan had changed to simply finding the unit where the driver was and then probably ask him some questions.

“Magnum? How much do you believe in coincidences?” Higgins asked as they silently walked around the corner.

“What are you thinking?” he asked her back as they rounded another corner. The roller door on the fourth unit on their right was open and light spilled out.

“I’m thinking, that this might be a little too neat,” Higgins replied.

“Trap? Why?” Magnum asked. Somehow, he knew her train of thoughts and he had been thinking of it himself.

“Just a feeling,” she said quietly as they approached the open unit.

“Maybe you should hang back for a moment, just in case,” he said and, hesitantly, Higgins slowed and instinctively moved towards a conveniently dark spot next to a dumpster, with a full view of the unit. She dug out her phone, found the contact and prepared to hit the call button, just in case. Further away, she saw Magnum pause outside the open roller door.

“Hey, man, didn’t I see you earlier? You’re Mr. Henderson’s driver, right?” Magnum asked friendly, his voice carrying easily to Higgins. She couldn’t hear the answer but tensed up, when she saw Magnum take a small step back and raise his hands carefully to shoulder height, the universal gesture of surrender. She would have reacted, if not for the small prick on the side of her neck and the chill that spread with it. The fast-acting drug had her slumped on the ground in less than two seconds.

Magnum’s attention was drawn to the clatter from Higgins’ position and, even with a weapon trained at his chest, he wanted to run to her when he saw her on the ground. A dark clad figure was squatting over her and plucked a dart from her neck. He hissed when he felt a cold pressure blossom from his shoulder and he quickly pulled the dart from his skin. He felt his legs give out and soon after he was starring at the dark sky.

“Higgy…” he mumbled before an all-consuming darkness swallowed him up.


	11. Chapter 11

Slowly, Magnum waded through the murky depths of unconsciousness. Sound came first, a heavy, but idling, engine. Whiffs of diesel and oil assaulted him and his vision came back with the jagged breath of pain when he moved. He was leaning up against a wall of pipes, and a dull pain in his neck and shoulders told him he had been in the same position for at least three hours. He moved to stand, but failed, when his hands wouldn't obey the simple order of supporting him. His confused mind realized they were cuffed behind his back, to a pipe following the floor. Only then his mind cleared up a bit.

He was on a boat. In the hull, actually, down in the engine, but still a boat. He could feel the waves through the floor. Not anything wild, but not close to gentle, either. Or a big, new and shiny yacht, judging by the engine. Bright lights, gleaming white surfaces, but still cramped. Much like Robin's newly acquired T. R. Belle. Something was nagging him in the back of his mind, but the confusion wouldn't let him go completely, yet. He saw the stairs going up to a door on his right and more engine to his left. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it of the cobwebs and with a jolt he remembered what had happened.

"Higgy," he mumbled with a cottonmouth. Clearly, they had been drugged with some kind of powerful sedative. He looked around again, but realized he was alone and then started pulling on the cuffs to no avail. "Higgins?" he called out, a little louder this time and he froze when a tiny sound reached him from behind. He craned his neck and, through the wall of pipes, he saw what he immediately recognized as Higgins' blonde hair on the floor. Just a sliver through the pipes was enough to convince him of this.

"Higgy, come on, open your eyes," he coaxed and had to straighten out for a few seconds before the muscles in his neck cramped. A murmur chided him, probably for being too loud, but he didn't care. "Wake up, Juliet, I need you to focus," he encouraged her again, softer, this time.

"I'm trying, Magnum, give me a moment," she mumbled back at him, audible this time and the private investigator smiled briefly. Grunts, groans and huffs followed the noises of handcuffs being tested and given up on.

"You alright?" Magnum asked over his shoulder and Higgins let out a sigh of defeat.

"I've been drugged, kidnapped and lying on the floor for hours, cuffed to a pipe on a bloody boat. What do you think?" she growled at him and let out a deep breath. "But, yes, otherwise I'm fully intact," she continued and Magnum could breathe a little easier. "Where do you suppose we are?" she asked.

"Open water. Probably a good distance away from the island," Magnum replied her and craned his neck. "What do you see, over there?" he asked.

"Uhm, pipes, motors, stairs, door, an oiled rag and a box in the corner. I can't see if it has any tools in and it's probably too far away, anyway," she replied, her mind already analyzing the situation. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Midnight, would be my guess. They took my watch. And everything else," Magnum grunted as he looked at his pockets again. He couldn't feel anything in his back pockets, either. "I doubt knowing the time would help us, anyhow," he continued, voicing his doubts matter-of-factly and tested hi restraints against the pipes again.

"I know, but it could give us a guestimate on when somebody would know we're missing," Higgins hissed back at him, rather irritated at his not-so-smart thinking.

"Yeah? And what's your guess, then?" Magnum snapped back. "Besides, it would take hours for anyone to close in on our position without any clues. They could search an area the size of England and still not find us by the end of the week," Magnum argued and laid his head back against the pipes with sigh. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," he apologized.

"Apology accepted. I guess it's considered normal to panic a little at this point. But to answer your question, no earlier than dawn," Higgins said after a moment.

"Dawn, great," Magnum replied drily. "By the way, that wasn't panic, I don't do panic," Magnum corrected and Higgins actually chuckled which made Magnum smile. "Any ideas?" he asked, now serious again.

"Maybe…" came the reply and a series of grunts and huffs sounded that made Magnum crease his brow in wonder. He tried to look over his shoulder and through the pipes, but the little movement he caught wasn't enough to give him a sense of what she was during.

"Higgy?" he asked when she went quiet.

"'old on a thecon'," came the strained answer and Magnum waited. Seconds later he heard something give and Higgins blew out a sigh of a job well-done. The cuffs rattled against the pipes seconds later it sounded as if they fell to the floor. Then Higgins came around to Magnum's side and he stared at her incredulously. One foot was naked and she was holding the remains of her wedge sandal in one hand and the buckle in the other.

"How did you do that?" he asked her, when she bent down to release him with the buckle.

"Simple, Magnum. It's something called yoga, you should try it. It's good for you," she said with a grin while she slipped of the other sandal. Soon after Magnum rubbed his wrists and moved to his feet.

"No, thank you, I don't need to give you another reason to laugh at me," he responded and moved to the box Higgins had mentioned before. He blew out a defeated sigh, when he saw that it was empty. He moved up the six steps on the stairs and carefully tested the door. Locked and possibly jammed, he concluded and turned around.

"Could we tamper with the engine? I mean, I don't know a lot about machines, but at some point, they'll have to come down here and fix it, right?" Higgins suggested.

"We could, but that would also let them know that we're awake and not tied up, so they would come down here with enough firepower to level Ko'olau," Magnum said.

"Then what do we do?" the majordomo asked, a tiny bit of frustration leaking through her words. Magnum thought through the possibilities and their probable outcome. In the end, he just shrugged.

"Guess we'll have to wait," he finally said and lowered himself to the same spot he was in before. Higgins glared at him and huffed, looked at the door, but then sat down next to him.

"Look on the bright side, Higgy, at least we know who engineered the two late night visits to Robin's Nest," Magnum said after a few moments of silence.

"How so?" she asked and glanced his way.

"Tranquilizer darts. Pink. Like the ones on Zeus and Apollo," Magnum replied and unconsciously rubbed at the top of his arm, where the dart had hit. "And, if the driver was SBS, and the rest of the security team is ex-military, then they would have no problem infiltrating the estate like the second team did," he said and leaned his head back against the pipes.

"Yes, but… why would anyone go through all that?" Higgins asked and Magnum shrugged.

"That's what I can't figure out. Curtis Henderson has enough money to get what he wants. Not to mention how Robin fits into all of this," the private investigator sighed.

"And what about his son?"

"No doubts about his existence, at least up until a month ago. He didn't have any reason to lie about that. My gut tells me, the kid is already dead," Magnum replied. Higgins went quiet at the implications of this knowledge and shivered.

"Revolting," was all she muttered with an undercurrent of bitter hatred and numbness.

"The waves are getting rougher," Magnum said after another moment of silence.

"And that helps us how?" Higgins asked, questioning the uplifting tone in his voice, rather than his words.

"It gives us a general direction. A storm was supposed to pass the island early in the morning. It should be coming in from the northeast. I guess Henderson didn't think of that when he planned this," Magnum replied and shrugged.

"But that also means any helicopters would possibly be grounded," Higgins reminded him and the private investigator nodded.

"I know, but maybe it will work in our favor." Higgins looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"It's a storm, Magnum. I'm pretty sure it doesn't take sides," she commented drily when he moved to his feet. Magnum stepped up to the stairs and listened through the door before he grabbed the oiled rag. "What are you doing?" Higgins asked when he sniffed at piece of cloth. He stuffed it in his pocket and looked around, but didn't answer right away. "Magnum?" Higgins asked again and moved to her feet too.

"Hang on," he simply said and reached around the back of a big cylinder. Higgins crossed her arms and waited for him, clearly not happy about being left in the dark of his thought process.

"If I could just get a hold of…" Magnum started, but was cut of when the door to their improvised prison swung open. Two sets of footsteps came down the stairs as Magnum tried to extricate himself from the mess of engines and tubes and pipes.

"Step away before I make you," the taller of them said. He was almost as tall as the driver they had encountered earlier, but much more lean and gangly. His friend, a normal sized guy, was still on the stairs and aiming his weapon straight at Magnum. He was chewing gum loudly. The tall guy was wearing a complete tactical belt with a gun, extra magazines, taser, cuffs and radio and had a set of plastic zip ties in his hand. He obviously didn't think he needed to brandish his own weapon.

"What's all this about?" Magnum asked, putting himself somewhat between the gun and his friend.

"You'll find out soon enough," the taller man said and made a motion for Magnum to turn around.

"Better do as you're told," the chewer on the stairs snickered and shifted so he was aiming at Higgins's forehead. Magnum briefly thought of the repercussions of rushing their two opponents but the risk was too high so he begrudgingly turned around. He looked straight at Higgins, who searched his eyes, and he slowly moved his head from side to side so she wouldn't do anything. The taller man roughly tied Magnum's wrists together and a long, slender hand landed on his shoulder. Slowly, Magnum was guided backwards and up the stairs, Higgins could do nothing but stand there and look fuming.

"Twat," she muttered under her breath when the door closed and the locked clicked. She wasn't entirely sure if it was Magnum or the two goons she was referring to. She started looking to where Magnum had been tinkering earlier and squeezed herself into the confined space. She was staring at something that might as well be rocket science to her and then looked to the abandoned cuffs on the floor. They had left her untied which was helpful, but not exactly comforting. She looked at the door again and then crawled out from the tiny place with a plan forming in her head.

Magnum was being pushed none-too-gently through left turns and right turns and up sets of stairs. They were working their way up to the top of the boat. Which was a rather luxurious yacht, he now decided.

"Mr. Magnum," Curtis Henderson said with a smile as he was pushed through another door into something alike a den.

"Henderson. What a coincidence to see you here," Magnum replied, feeling the sarcasm roll off his tongue. The old man chuckled when Magnum was being led to a simple metal chair in the middle of the room and forcefully sat down. His wrists were freed but then tied to the armrests. He could smell the cigarettes and the chewing gum on the smaller man. The two guys stepped back and the taller one relaxed in a plush chair, the other leaning on the wall, arms crossed, foot tapping the floor. The waves were much more defined up here above the surface and Henderson needed to hold the tumbler of amber liquid in his hand, so it wouldn't skid of the table he was standing behind. A flash of lightning flickered in the horizon and a level of dread filled Magnum.

"Let's just skip right to it, shall we?" Henderson said with a sigh and downed the whiskey. Magnum pointedly said nothing.

"Where is it?" the older man asked and stepped closer.

"Where's what? Your son? I think, you know that. Hiring me to find him was just a trap, right?" Magnum said, hoping to buy time by changing the subject.

"It was a good plan, yes? And well executed, I might add. I'll make sure, my men will receive a hefty bonus," Henderson replied. Magnum said nothing, but looked to the door when it opened again.

"Is he not behaving?" the newly arrived man asked with a hungry grin and Magnum instantly recognized the voice as the team leader he had fought on the grass two nights earlier. The one who had bragged about offing the two remaining guys from the first attack. The one who had probably killed Robert Price, the weapons dealer. The one, with a passion for knives, Magnum's brain supplied when he looked at the man. He could see at least five handles on the man, protruding from sheaths placed on his arm, thigh, ankle, waist and chest.

"Back for round two, I see?" Magnum asked and furrowed his brow. "I never caught your name...?" he said with a glint in his eye. Henderson looked to the arrival and shrugged, as if it didn't matter anymore. The outcome was not, was Magnum hoped for.

"Reeves," the man answered with a grin of his own as he leaned on the table.

"Now, tell me, Magnum, where is it?" Henderson asked again and Magnum shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Magnum said. He had barely finished the sentence when Henderson had leapt forward and punched the heavy crystal tumbler at his head. It broke on contact with his hairline and the force of it was enough to tip the chair to the ground. White spots danced in his vision and his stomach rolled when the chair was heaved upright again. He could feel the blood streaming down the side of his face accompanied by a dull throb in his head. If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the pain, he would have been surprised by the power the old man had just shown. A groan escaped him and he clenched his eyes shut tight as a wave of nausea passed.

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Magnum?" Henderson said softly, close to his ears and Magnum nodded, his face strained when the older man pulled his head back by the hair. Magnum blinked his eyes open and locked onto Henderson.

"I'm sure. I have no idea what you're talking about," the private investigator said. Henderson sighed and released Magnum's hair with a slight push. He stepped back to the table, crunching the shards of glass under his shoes.

"The proof, my son sent to Robin Masters, where is it?" Henderson asked, this time speaking in a lower volume. Another lightning flashed on the horizon, but no one seemed to notice it. Magnum instantly connected the dots but could only look at the man in disgust.

"That's what this is about? You tried to kill Robin Masters, so he wouldn't publish anything about what you're doing? He's not a reporter anymore," Magnum explained and Henderson looked to Reeves with a smile.

"But they were working together on exposing me," Henderson snarled at the private investigator.

"So, you killed your own son," Magnum said, coldly, without taking his eyes of the older man. He was vaguely aware of Reeves's hand flitting to the knife on the belt around his waist, as if he was remembering. Magnum straightened and looked to Reeves. "Only you had your minion do it for you," he said, eyes locked onto Reeves, who just smiled. He reminded Magnum of a hungry reptile.

"It had to be done," Henderson only said with a shrug.

"And we're here because you think Robin shared his findings with us?" Magnum asked, looking back at Henderson.

"Why wouldn't he? With your backgrounds it would be highly plausible, that he would come to you for help, whether you knew it or not," Henderson reasoned. Magnum said nothing. The man had a point. If you had a Navy SEAL and a MI6 operative on your payroll, why not utilize them?

"What happened three months ago?" Magnum asked, going back to his plan of changing the subject. "You see, my guess is, it has something to do with your company – medicine, vaccines and therapeutic vaccines. And from what you told me about your son, it would be something morally incomprehensive," Magnum deduced and he knew he was right because both Henderson and Reeves tensed up.

"He's lying, clearly he knows everything," the gum chewer said from behind him.

"It's called investigating. It requires thinking," Magnum told the man over his shoulder. "Maybe you should try it," he continued and suddenly his head was pushed to his left as the gum chewer pushed the cold nose of his gun against his right temple. He heard the soft click when the safety was switched off.

"Stand down, Howler," Reeves said firmly without moving an inch. The jittering Howler huffed and sighed and stepped back. A stern look from Reeves had the man clam up like an oyster.

"Reeves, why don't you and Callaghan take Mr. Magnum somewhere else and find his cooperativeness. Meanwhile, I'll have a talk with Ms. Higgins," Henderson said and nodded to Howler and the taller man behind Magnum. Reeves grabbed a radio of the back of his belt and keyed it.

"Red, top floor," he said quietly without taking his eyes of Magnum. A voice quickly acknowledged the command and Reeves pushed off the table. Magnum pushed himself back in the chair, instinctively trying to back away from the ferocious look in the man.

"Make sure he can still talk, when you're done," Henderson said when the door opened and the driver stepped in.

"Shorty and Birdie are keeping watch. We can ride out the storm and continue in the morning," the ex-SBS guy reported and looked momentarily confused when Henderson reached for his waist. The old man unclipped the taser and strolled over to Magnum. The private investigator knew what was coming, but it didn't change the level of pain as electricity surged through him. It felt like minutes, hours, before darkness swallowed him.


	12. Missing scene

I was just leaving the office, when my phone buzzed and I pulled it from the pocket on my shirt.

“Island Hoppers, how can I help?” I said when I didn’t recognize the number. Customers were known to call this late at night with questions or reservations or the like.

“ _Mr. Calvin?_ ” an old, rough voice asked. I paused at the door, cautious at the strange tone of the voice. I thought, I could detect a small part of worry in there.

“Speaking,” I replied, still curious as to where this was going.

“ _Listen, I’m a friend of Thomas. He asked me for a favor earlier tonight and we agreed that I would call back with the information once I’d obtained it,_ ” the deep voice explained.

“That sounds like Thomas, alright,” I commented with a smile.

“ _But, you see, problem is, he isn’t answering his phone. The call won’t even connect,_ ” the voice said now. The worry was becoming more evident.

“That’s weird,” I agreed and began wondering.

“ _Look, I would go check on him myself, but I’m on the mainland and it’s really important, that I speak with him, as soon as possible. He needs to know what he’s up against,_ ” the old man said.

“Wait, hold on a second, what are you talking about? What did he ask of you?” I asked, now getting a little worried myself. Clearly, not everything was as it should be.

“ _He wanted a list of who’d accessed his file and that of a Juliet Higgins,_ ” the old voice said.

“What did you find?” I said, now quickly locking up the office and walking to my van.

“ _Technically, nothing much, but I had my people dig a little deeper and they traced it back to a couple of guys on the payroll of some big medical firm right on the island, run by a-_ “ my mind connected the dots and I felt the chill run down my back.

“Curtis Henderson,” I finished and a brief moment of surprise had us both stunned. “I have to go, I need to find him before anything happens,” I said and the old man agreed. I crawled up onto the seat and fiddled with the keys before the fell to the floor.

“ _Give me a call, if you need any assistance. I might be far away, but I can make things happen,_ ” the old voice said.

“Thank you, Mr…” I said, but realized I hadn’t even got a name to go with the guy.

“ _Scott Campbell, retired Navy admiral. You can catch me on this number. Good luck, Soldier,_ ” the old man said and the call dropped. Immediately, I hit Thomas’s number and scrambled for the keys on the floor. Sure enough, it didn’t even connect. I tried calling Juliet, she always picks up, but again, nothing. My stomach dropped and I called Rick.

“ _Hey, buddy, what’s up?_ ” he asked when I could finally drive out on the road.

“I going to Robin’s Nest to see if Thomas and Juliet are alright,” I said without preamble.

“ _Why? What’s going on?_ ” Rick asked, and I could hear his quick footsteps and the jangles of his keys. Clearly, he was going to meet me there, he would probably even beat me there.

“Long story short, his new case is connected to the incidents and I think it might be a trap. They aren’t picking up, not even Juliet,” I said and pushed the old van to its limits.

“ _That’s not good. I’ll call Captain Greene and Kumu, see if they know anything. Why don’t you call Katsumoto and give him an update? I’ll meet you there in ten minutes,_ ” Rick said and I barely grunted a reply before ending the call and finding the detective’s number. Waiting for him to answer felt like ages.

“ _Katsumoto,_ ” short and precise, but sounding a little bit distracted.

“Hey, we might have a problem. Neither Magnum or Higgins are answering their phones. I’m meeting Rick at Robin’s Nest in ten minutes,” I said, skipping the pleasantries. There was a moment of silence on the line, before the detective answered.

“ _I’m on my way,_ ” he said and the call dropped. I stepped harder on the speeder and vaguely wondered how many traffic laws I had broken in the last three minutes.


	13. Missing scene

T.C.’s news had me racing to the Nest in record time. I parked next to Rick’s sports car and hurried to the house. Rick opened the door and the look on his face was sort of crestfallen and he looked past me, searching.

“What’s happened? Where are they? Where’s T.C.?” I asked him when we stalked further into the house. Rick was pacing, like a tiger in captivity. Kumu was perched on the corner of the couch and Captain Greene was practically fuming in the corner, arms crossed. Before Rick could answer the front door opened again and we all turned to face the newcomer. T.C. came around the corner and almost breathed a sigh of relief. “What’s going on?” I asked, redirecting my questions at the pilot.

“I dropped Thomas off this afternoon after a visit to his new client,” T.C. began and a surge of anger coursed through me.

“He took on a client? In the middle of this? Why would he do something so stupid?” I asked and only got shrugs in return. That was definitely not the smartest move of the private investigator.

“A missing persons-case. A twenty-three-year-old son. Missing for a month,” T.C. explained.

“My men said, they left not long after, in the Ferrari,” Captain Greene commented from the corner.

“And their phones?” I asked, knowing they had already taken steps in this direction.

“Turned off, I think. Definitely not answering. The last location logged was a storage facility down town,” Rick replied and T.C. continued.

“The same storage facility where the kid had a lease,” T.C. commented.

“Tell him about the call,” Rick said with a gesture and T.C. complied. I looked from one to another waiting for an explanation.

“I got a call from a retired admiral. Couldn’t get a hold of Thomas, so he called me. Thomas wanted a list of people, who had accessed his and Juliet’s files. Turns out, it can be traced back to the new client,” T.C. explained and I unconsciously scratched the back of my neck.

“What’s his name?” I asked, wanting to get HPD involved, as I found my phone.

“Curtis Henderson,” T.C. replied dutifully and glanced at Rick.

“And who’s this admiral?” I asked when waiting for the call to connect.

“Some old guy named Scott Campbell. I’ve never heard Magnum talk about this guy before. He clearly has some pull. Said he can make things happen,” the big guy said solemnly. I relayed the name of the client and demanded everything on him within the hour. I also ordered a trace on both Magnum and Higgins phone and the Ferrari, issued BOLO’s on all three and then turned back to the two guys.

“Let’s go check out that storage facility,” I said and the three of us headed to the door.

I followed Rick and T.C. on the drive and parked next to them in front of the office on the corner. The place was quiet, not many customers this close to midnight. I looked around and saw a couple of cameras dotted around the area. Per protocol I found a ballistic vest in the trunk and slid it on, while Rick and T.C. were chomping at the bit, weapons already drawn, flash lights ready. HPD was in route, but I knew we couldn’t waste time.

“We’ll fan out. You two go that way, I’ll loop around,” I directed and we split up. The place was empty. Not a living soul in sight. Rick and T.C. quietly came around the corner, I lowered my flash light so I wouldn’t blind them. “I got nothing,” I confessed with a hint of anger bubbling under the surface and holstered my weapon.

“We found Higgins’s phone,” Rick said and gestured to somewhere behind him.

“Under a dumpster. It might have skidded under there and been forgotten,” T.C. said. He didn’t have to say why it had skidded. Clearly, something had happened.

“Show me where,” I said and we walked back to where they had found it. They hadn’t even moved it, like Magnum would probably have done at a crime scene. The same moment I moved to pick it up, my phone rang and I paused, answering it quickly. “Katsumoto,” I said and listened. Rick and T.C. were eyeing me for my reactions, trying to guess what the news was. I shook my head in the negative, silently telling them their friends hadn’t been located. I ended the call and picked up the discarded phone with two fingers.

“What was it?” Rick asked, impatiently.

“Patrol’s located the Ferrari. There was a phone on the seat and a laptop and tablet under the passenger seat,” I said and dropped the phone in a clear evidence bag.

“Let’s get down there, then,” T.C. said and I shook my head.

“I think it’s time we go have a talk with Mr. Henderson, meanwhile I’ll get footage and warrant for whatever they were looking at here.” I said and looked at the different garages. I would be impossible to know which one was the one, unless we had the list of clients. I let the light glide over the ground, hoping to find evidence, wishing it not be a speck of blood. But the area was clear. The three of us all looked around before we, with a collective nod, headed back to the cars.


	14. Chapter 14

The chair was restricting her movements. So much for chivalry, Higgins thought when she lifted her head and tried to regain control over her breathing. Henderson, the old man, had left her quite more than winded with just a single punch, than other people had managed with more. That, and the fact she had been totally unprepared for it had not worked in her favor. She was absentmindedly wondering if a couple of her ribs had been bent. The pain was definitely testifying to that fact.

Already, when the two buffoons had brought her into the office, she had spotted the stain of blood on the carpet with the shards of glass littered around it. She didn’t even need to guess, to know it was Magnum’s.

“What a coincidence, that’s what Mr. Magnum said,” Henderson said with a grin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the old man said like a whiny child and found a fitting grimace. Higgins stared at him with clear disgust in her eyes and Henderson gleefully hopped a step backwards and held up his hands. “Oh, please, no, have mercy, milady, I beg of you, don’t kill me with your eyes,” he stuttered in a vague British accent and laughed, heartedly.

“I see now, why your own son despised you,” Higgins said with a sharp contemptuous tone. It was a chance, but she figured it was true when another punch landed hard on her chin. Henderson walked to the chair behind the desk and shrugged off his suit jacket.

“I really hoped you would be more approachable than Mr. Magnum. Fortunately, my guys are working on him right now, though I might need to bring in some of the more fun stuff from work. Do you know what my company does, hm?” he asked as he walked around the desk again and slowly rolled up his sleeves.

The knuckles on his right hand were already bruised and Higgins could see a single cut. Probably from her teeth, she thought before answering his question.

“Medication and vaccines, right? All things considered, something sinister, like scamming with the trials or testing dangerous products on live subjects,” Higgins said and Henderson nodded impressively.

“Very good, Ms. Higgins. Close, even,” the old man said and for a moment looked out the window. It was completely dark outside except for the occasional flash of lightning that had crept closer. The water was getting rougher, too. “It all comes down to selling to the highest bidder. You see, take any kind of vaccine and reverse engineer it, do some science stuff and voilà, you now have a very effective weapon. And the best thing?” he asked and turned back around to look at Higgins. The look in his eyes was almost manic. Another lightning flashed behind him.

He walked closer and leaned down on her bound wrist, his face just a breath away from her. She didn’t answer. “The best thing is the actual testing of these magnificent weapons. Some of it we can actually do right here on Hawaii, but it’s easier to find test subjects in countries, where money is an effective bait,” he said and Higgins turned her head away from the vile image her mind conjured before her.

“You’re a sick bastard,” she finally gritted out and promptly received a backhand across the face. She didn’t manage to hold back the groan of pain and it made her eyes sting, but she focused her eyes on Henderson’s face again, making sure to make her hatred of him obvious.

“Aren’t you a feisty little one?” he chuckled and walked back to lean on the desk. He crossed his arms and Higgins spoke.

“What do you want with us?” she asked. Obviously, she and Magnum was of no use to Henderson, without the proof his son sent to Robin Masters.

“That’s a good question,” he said and scratched his chin in fake curiosity. “I’m sure Reeves would like to have some fun with you, too. He likes to challenge the bodies of his adversaries,” he said and shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll let you know later, when I figure something out. Or, when Mr. Magnum decides to cooperate. Which ever comes first,” he said and nodded to the two guys behind her.

She felt them approach and soon after her wrists were untied. She knew she had to do something, so before they could retie her arms, she drove her right elbow backwards into the neck of the jittering guy. He stumbled backwards, clutching his damaged windpipe and the other man seized both her arms in a firm grip before she could run her whole body backwards and jerk her head another length to headbutt the man in the nose.

The grip on her arms loosened and she spun around and kicked viciously upwards with a dirty trick that had the man crumble to floor and whining in a shrill tone.

The gum chewing man rushed back at her and she barely dodged his grip. She heard the door open and she registered the newcomer, looking at her with glee.

Higgins drove another elbow into the lower back of the man, that was currently occupying her. He fell to the floor and the newcomer came at her with a wicked grin.

He ducked her every other punch and those he didn’t, he just brushed off, like it was nothing. Higgins was vaguely aware of Henderson, still leaning on the desk and watching. The newcomer rushed her again and she was pushed heavily into the wall, the air chased from her lungs by her opponent’s shoulder.

A series of hard and fast punches drove into her side and the shear pain of that was enough to let her go slack and almost black out. She gasped for air when she violently fell to the floor. Again, her arms were seized and zip tied, but this time she didn’t resist. She barely had the energy to move.

All three of the men hauled her to her feet and steered her back to the engine room she had woken up in earlier. She was unceremoniously tossed from the top of the five steps and tumbled to the floor and a heap of grunts and groans. Because her hands were tied and she couldn’t break the fall, her head crashed into the floor and pain spiderwebbed through her whole body. She could hear the three men laugh above her before they closed the door and the lock clicked. Then she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore.

Magnum jostled awake when the water hit him in the face. He gasped, an old human reflex to water, and saw Reeves looming over him with an upended water bottle above his face. He shook the water out of his eyes, like a dog coming out of a pond. His whole body felt sore and throbbing, obviously because of the electrical abuse earlier. And his vision was sort of floating. The movement of the sea didn’t make any of it better.

Reeves grinned and tossed the empty bottle over his shoulder. It landed in the far corner of the small, almost empty room. Reeves squatted down in front of Magnum with a taser in his hand, brandishing it and looking at it with disinterest. The private investigator jerked his arms, but they had been zip tied to two different shelf units, arms stretched out horizontal. Luckily, his feet had been left untied. Unluckily, he had nothing to lean up against, so he felt the strain on his body even more.

“Pretty useful, right?” Reeves said and turned the taser in his hand. “But not really my style,” he confessed and reached behind him to put the taser in a holster on his belt. “Takes all the fun away. No blood,” he explained and instead produced a hunting knife with a six-inch blade. Like the taser, he showcased it in front of him, almost looking adoringly at the gleaming steel.

“Go ahead. I’ve been through worse,” Magnum said. He had nothing left for this guy. Reeves looked from the knife to Magnum and the corner of his mouth twisted in amusement.

“I don’t doubt it, this is going to be fun. But do you really think you can hold back the screams of pure agony? You might think of it as being valiant or stalling for time, but guess what. No one is coming. You and the bitch will die on this damn boat,” Reeves said quietly and moved the tip of the knife to rest under Magnum’s chin.

He felt the cold steel caress his skin as he instinctively pulled his head back. He swallowed the lump in his throat and his eyes flickered down to the knife before he looked back at Reeves.

“That’s not going to happen. Good people are looking for us. And when they find us, you and the rest of your cronies will go to jail for a very long time,” Magnum said and felt the pressure from the knife when Reeves leaned closer.

“Don’t get your hopes up, just yet,” the man said and his eyes locked onto the drops of blood the knife squeezed out when the soft skin broke. Magnum felt the blood trickle down his neck, but he didn’t exactly feel the pain of the broken skin. That would come later, he knew.

The silence between them was interrupted by a squawk from the radio on Reeves’s belt. He lowered the knife and reached for it, without taking his eyes of Magnum. “What is it?” he snapped and a hesitant voice replied.

“ _She resisted. She got Howler good. Tex, too. I had to step in,_ ” a voice said, short and precise. Reeves growled and straightened up, still looking at Magnum.

“I’ll be right there,” he said and replaced the radio. “It’s not looking good for the bitch. I’m sure Shorty must have done some damage. Why don’t you think about that, until I get back,” he said with another sick grin and pulled the door open.

As soon as it clicked shut behind him, Magnum was looking around for anything that could help him. He had a mixed feeling of pride, that Higgins was able to do some damage, and anxiety because he knew there would probably be repercussions to her actions.

The shelves were empty and constructed of some sort of heavy metal, probably bolted to the walls. No way to move them, but the parts he was zip tied to had an edge, so Magnum figured that if he moved his wrist up and down, eventually the zip ties would break.

Ten minutes later the zip tie on his right hand broke and the sudden give had him sprawled on the floor, panting, sweating and bleeding from the chaffed wrists. He righted himself and with the increased mobility the second zip tie gave up quickly.

Magnum jumped to his feet and listened close to the door. Wen he heard nothing, he carefully turned the handle and opened the door. No response, so he peaked out, down the hallway and then the opposite way. Nothing. They hadn’t even locked the door.

He silently snuck out and closed the door behind him and stood absolutely still for a moment. He looked left and started walking quietly, pressed up against the wall. Time was a luxury he didn’t have but he forced himself to slow down anyway. First, he needed to find Higgy.

But he didn’t get that far. He barely made it to the next corner before a yell sounded from the room he had just left. Running feet followed and Magnum was already sprinting.

He hugged the corner in a left turn and immediately recognized the door on his right as the one he and Higgins had been caught behind. The footsteps had echoed away and he was suspiciously aware of the silence before he unlocked and opened the door.

“Higgy?” he whispered, when his eyes fell on her unmoving, prone form on the floor and almost jumped down the steps to check on her. He put a hand on her shoulder and she startled, lifting her bruised face with a look of panic in her eyes. “Juliet, easy, it’s just me,” he said quietly and brushed a few strands of hair from her discolored face.

“Magnum? How did… are you…” she said quietly, slurring her words and clearly dazed, probably from the cartwheel she had taken down the five steps. Magnum hurried to the discarded cuffs they had escaped earlier and returned with a set. Maybe the jagged edge could serve as some kind of blade on the zip ties.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I heard you did some damage,” Magnum prompted to change the subject and got to work on sawing through the ties.

“Crushed windpipe and busted nose, I couldn’t get to the third guy,” she said and sighed in relief when the ties broke and she carefully sat up and rubbed her sore wrists. Magnum’s firm hand on her shoulder kept her grounded and his face told her to recover before moving too much.

“You alright?” he asked and Higgins nodded. However, she couldn’t hide greyish tint, that was only more noticeable next to the bruises on her face.

“Help me up, Magnum,” she said instead, irritated. They had to get moving. Tentatively, he pulled her up and the sudden change in position had her swaying, before a strong arm wrapped around her waist and kept her knees from buckling. The two of them could have looked like an old dancing couple if not for the blood and the bruises both of them were sporting.

“Still alright?” he asked quietly and looked down at her, concern evident in his eyes.

“Bugger off and let’s go,” she only replied, but didn’t let go of him right away. Instead, Magnum maneuvered one of her arms over his shoulder and held her close, making sure she was comfortable.

“So, you got a plan?” he asked as the two of them cooperated on walking up the stairs. He quietly opened the door again and decided it was empty before hauling the two of them out of the engine room.

“Maybe we could find the bridge and radio for help,” Higgins replied quietly when Magnum turned them left and they scaled another set of stairs. To get out, they had to move up. At least above the surface of the water. So, stairs were a good choice, Magnum thought. Also, doors with those green exit signs above would be a good choice. He paused again. “What?” Higgins asked and looked up at him, curious.

“Something’s wrong,” Magnum replied quietly and turned them both around to look back the way they came.

“Really, Sherlock, what on earth would that be? That a group of men drugged us and brought us on a boat against our wills and beat us up for information that we don’t have?” the majordomo hissed and huffed.

“That, too,” Magnum commented quietly, welcoming the sarcasm, and turned around again, walking quicker than before. “They already know I escaped, so all this is too quiet,” he said and turned left. At the same moment, the engines started up and the vessel started moving.

“Where are we going now?” Higgins asked when Magnum headed straight for one of those exit signs.

“I’m guessing, they’ll avoid the storm. It’s a big yacht, but even the residual waves would be a challenge without a trained crew. And if this is Henderson’s own private leisure vessel, he would probably have the SBS guy piloting it,” Magnum said. If Shorty and Birdie was still on watch, keeping eyes on the horizon for any approaching boats, then Henderson and only three other guys were left to roam around. Hopefully, they hadn’t brought more people they needed to sort out.

Magnum pushed out through the door and looked around at the dark night surrounding the two of them. They had come out somewhere on the stern and felt the chilled rain on them the second they the door had opened.

“About damn time, I’m freezing,” the taller man from earlier said, though he sounded more nasal. Magnum and Higgins spun around as the door clicked closed. The cowboy was bruised under both his eyes and his nose looked thoroughly sore and swollen. Higgins had done a good job, busting up this guy’s nose.

He was standing at the corner, leaning on the wall, with a gun pointed steadily at them. Magnum and Higgins didn’t move a muscle. Magnum could have kicked himself for their luck and ease. Obviously, it had been too good to be true.

“Y’all behave now. I don’t have any problems shooting the both of you and it ain’t my problem if you tump down the stairs again,” he said and waved the two of them back in through the door.


	15. Chapter 15

The chilled air and rain outside, had made Higgins a bit more self-sufficient and Magnum was carrying less of her weight now, as they were being directed back to the study with a gun pointing at their backs. The cowboy wasn’t even close enough for Magnum to turn the tables. Reeves was waiting outside the door, arms crossed, a grimace on his face.

“Nice job, Texas,” he said and opened the door, gesturing for Magnum and Higgins to get inside. Another chair had been produced and both of them where placed in the middle of the room, almost facing each other. Magnum, and consequently Higgins, paused.

The jittery guy was in the corner, red faced, with one hand loosely wrapped around his throat. The other was resting on the butt of the gun on his hip. Henderson was standing behind the desk, looking out the window with his hands in his pockets. He swayed gently on the waves, but otherwise didn’t react to the newcomers.

Texas followed them inside and then proceeded to grab Higgins’s arm to tear her away from Magnum, while Reeves grabbed a handful of Magnum’s shirt collar and pushed him into one of the chairs. Higgins was none-too-gently shoved in the other and their hands were tied to the armrests again.

Their eyes met and a they gave each other a tiny nod of encouragement. For that little movement, Magnum received a smack to the back of the head and he hissed quietly in pain.

“I’m really disappointed in you two and now you are attempting to get off a boat in the middle of the ocean. It’s no easy feat, I’m not even sure you would have made it,” Henderson said and turned around to face them. He sauntered around the desk and bend at the waist to level out with Higgins. He grabbed her chin and turned her face to look at the damage he had done, the already colorful bruising.

Magnum jerked his arms, aggravating his already torn wrists. Higgins proudly uttered no sound when he squeezed the bruises. But she couldn’t hide the pulse of pain that passed across her face. Magnum’s inner debate of whether to say something or not was quickly lost. He couldn’t and wouldn’t let them hurt Higgins.

“Leave her alone,” he said ominously. Her heard Reeves huff a laugh behind him and Henderson turned his face to look at him before looking back at Higgins with a growing sneer. Higgins looked at him, defiantly and Henderson let go of her and straightened up.

“You do realize, you’ll be dead before noon, right?” Henderson asked with a shimmer in his eyes. Magnum shrugged and tilted his head.

“If that happens, so be it,” he said quietly. Higgins read the determination in his eyes and found it a little terrifying. “You’ll live the rest of your sorry life in prison, hoping to never see the outside of a six by eight box again,” he continued. Henderson looked at him, curiously, then directed his gaze to Reeves, who shrugged.

“Didn’t you..?” Henderson asked, leaving he question open, possibly referring to the previous order to find his cooperativeness. Reeves shook his head and explained.

“Never got to it. Shorty radioed. Had to made sure she was dealt with,” he gestured to Higgins and Henderson nodded, accepting the clarification. As if on cue the radio on Reeves’s belt squawked again and he quickly answered with a squawk of his own.

“ _There’s a vessel on the horizon, due south,_ ” a voice spoke. Not the driver, Magnum determined.

“Specifics?” Reeves asked and shot a worrisome look at his boss.

“ _Might be coast guard,_ ” came the reply.

“Speed?” Reeves asked and headed to the door when Henderson gestured to ‘go solve the problem’. The door closed before any of them could hear the answer.

“What, exactly, was your plan? I mean, you’re testing biological weapons on human beings. Surely, even you, as moronic as you are, would know it wasn’t an everlasting profit?” Higgins spoke up, spurred on by their possible rescue. Magnum caught on and followed her lead.

“She’s right, authorities would find out and investigate. They would uncover more, than your son ever could,” he said.

“You’re going to prison, so, all your work has been for nothing. You killed your own son for nothing,” Higgins said, brutally honest and Magnum feared she would get to feel Henderson’s wrath up close and personal. He had to focus the old guy’s attention somewhere else.

“Tell me, Curtis, how did he die? Where’s his body? Where you even there, when your monkey took care of Tobias?” Magnum asked, trying to sound as derisive as possible. Henderson looked ready to burst, fists clenched, face red with rage.

He knew they were outnumbered, but they had to do something. His peripheral vision told him, that Higgins was ready to follow his lead. He knew she would be starring at Howler and Texas behind Magnum. She would act if he moved. She would follow his lead with everything she got. Outside, the horizon was becoming more visible. The rain was still coming down in cascades and the lightnings were still flickering, but somewhere behind the dark clouds and above the waves, the sun was rising.

Magnum moved the same split second as Henderson. He jumped to his feet and spun with the chair still at his back and jerked backwards so the legs of the chair connected with Henderson.

His momentum was big enough to topple both of them backwards and spill to the floor. It pulled at his already butchered wrist, but he didn’t care. He pushed off to the side and caught a glimpse of Higgins, and chair, bearhugged from behind by the cowboy and still performing a well-aimed, bare-footed kick to the groin of her other opponent, Howler. He went down, eyes almost popping out of their sockets. No doubt he would have honored his nickname, if he had the air to do it.

Getting up from the floor proved to be a little hard, when tied to a chair. Sort of like a turtle, flipped on its back, Magnum realized when he was brutally yanked back down to the floor, with a log-like arm around his neck.

Instincts told him to get the arm off, but without hands it would be difficult. He did the next best thing, he could think of, throwing his feet up over his adversary and twist out of his grip. It still wasn’t easy, but he managed and the chair followed his body again.

Higgins scrambled to get a foothold and throw the gangly man off her. Self-preservation dictates, that as a reaction to brace for one’s future face-plant on the floor, one must abandon the current bearhug, and therefore let go of your challenger.

Magnum struggled to regain his footing, but had to adjust his position and balance, when a powerful sideswipe brushed past his nose. He ducked another and sidestepped a third before he stepped in and rammed his shoulder into Henderson’s stomach.

Fighting, while tied to a chair, was definitely worse than the training sessions Higgins had done years earlier, where she had to be blindfolded. Range and movement were severely reduced. And the previous beating coupled with the possible head injury only made it that much more difficult to gain the upper hand.

Howler was still rolling around the floor, moaning and whining. Texas was back on his feat in a matter of seconds and rushing her again. She stepped forward and kicked out, aiming for the rangy man’s knee. The connection was audible in form of a loud crunch as the knee buckled the wrong way and the cowboy fell to the floor, writhing in pure agony.

Henderson was momentarily distracted by the loud sounds and Magnum swung the chair around to connect with the man’s back, so he fell to the floor. Magnum kicked him in the head, brutally, but necessary. The powerful kick would have sent a football out of the stadium. Henderson only toppled onto his back, unconscious.

Magnum and Higgins were breathing hard as they looked at each other and the damage they had done. It took them a moment before they moved. The private investigator awkwardly squatted down to Henderson, to make sure he was still alive and capable of being sent to prison. Higgins moved to the other side of the desk and just inelegantly searched the drawers for a letter opener or something alike.

“We need to get off this boat,” Magnum stated as Higgins came over with a pocket knife. She cut away the zip tie on Magnum’s left, before he undid their remaining three. Both their wrists were torn and bruised and blood was smearing their hands and lower arms.

“Agreed. Any suggestions?” she asked as the two of them unarmed the three men and Magnum shrugged before handing Howler’s gun to Higgins. The same gun that had been pressed to his temple a few hours ago. He kept the other for himself, and Henderson wasn’t armed. The three of them didn’t have any cell phones or radios.

“We’ll lock them in here and get to the bridge, hopefully we can gain access to some comms there,” Magnum said when they moved to the door. Dawn was coming closer, but still not the warm, bright colors of the usual Hawaiian sunrise.

“Brilliant,” Higgins huffed before they stepped out through the door. Magnum closed it behind him, locked up, and retrieved the fire extinguisher from the corner, he had spotted earlier. He used it to knock the handle off, so opening the door would be harder.

“This way,” he said and Higgins followed silently. The kept their newly acquired weapons on hand and ready for anything that might lurk in the corners. Magnum updated his mind map of the yacht as he went and he kept a mental count on the bad guys.

Henderson, Texas and Howler was dealt with. That would leave Red on the helm, Shorty and Birdie possibly still on watch and Reeves on probable damage control, if the aforementioned vessel was still in sight.

“Might I suggest, you start vetting any future clients, before accepting their cases?” Higgins asked and Magnum huffed quietly and grinned before he answered.

“That’s actually–,“ he began when the shooting started. Instincts had them both pressed up against the wall before they even realized the shots were coming from outside. A lot of shooting, a lot of bullets. “Let’s go,” Magnum said and walked on. They turned a corner and came to a door, making eye contact before opening the door an inch. The door let out to an outdoor sitting area, only a single visible shooter, Shorty, with his back turned towards them. The most logical would be to make him surrender, by yelling at him with the gun drawn. But these guys were probably ready to shoot their way out.

“I’ll distract him, you circle around back and get behind him,” Magnum said and did the next best thing he could think of, sneaking up and disarm him. He moved to walk out the door, but Higgins caught his arm for a moment. He turned and looked at her, before she spoke.

“Be careful,” she said quietly and Magnum nodded once before he answered.

“You too,” he said before they separated and he turned back to his plan. As he moved out of the door, he pinpointed the other shooters. The vessel had indeed been coast guard.

It was positioned right next to the stern, with TC ducking behind an armored plate. Rick was on the yacht, crouching and pinned down behind a large box. Katsumoto was not faring any better on the other side of the box. The three of them together with a couple of coast guard officers was taking a good amount of fire from somewhere behind Magnum, a level further up.

The door swung closed behind him with a sound, loud enough to make Shorty turn around and aim his weapon at Magnum, who had already launched himself at the man. The gun coughed out a bullet, but it went wide and landed somewhere in the water.

The two of them grappled for the gun, until it conveniently fell over the side and down to the floor beneath them. Magnum’s own gun was lost somewhere in the chaos. He was pushed up against the railing, but barely noticed the twenty-foot drop to the water when a meaty fist connected with his stomach and chased the wind from his lungs. The punches kept raining down on him.

He vaguely registered the voices of Katsumoto and T.C., but couldn’t decipher the words, he was busy, trying to not get pushed over the edge. He managed to whack the other man in the head with his elbow, momentarily stunning him enough to loosen the grip and Magnum found himself pounding his way back from the railing.

The shooting around them intensified and Magnum saw Rick and Katsumoto dart out from their cover and get closer. Magnum, spurred on by the possible victory, dug deep and found a second wind. He delivered a punch to the base of Shorty’s neck, quickly followed by another to the solar plexus that had him doubled over.

He finished the fight with another elbow to the back of his head. Shorty was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Magnum stumbled, still reeling from the flurry of pain and saw the gun on the floor right in front of him. He picked it up, and was about to face the second and third shooters, as the door he had exited burst open. Higgins shuffled out with a beefy arm around her neck and a gun was pointed at her temple. Henderson was right behind her, trying to hide himself behind Higgins’s tiny form.

“Nobody moves!” he yelled and the shooting instantly paused. Magnum had raised his gun, but with Higgins between him and Henderson, he was forced to lower it a fraction. Higgins looked worse than before, the blood from a nosebleed and a split lip was a stark contrast to her pale face. Her eyes were even more dazed and her body a little slumped.

Rick and Katsumoto exchanged a glance and simultaneously lowered their weapons. They had no shot, being on the deck below. Magnum saw their eyes dart to a point above him, possibly the two other shooters. They probably had their weapons trained on them, no problem.

Magnum took a careful, little step forward off the railing, trying to get closer to Henderson and Higgins. Henderson adjusted his position and jostled the gun, warningly. Higgins’s eyes locked on to Magnum’s and he could almost read her apology.

“If you take another step, I’ll blow her brains out,” Henderson yelled and Magnum redirected his eyes to the mad-man. Still alive, obviously, and conscious, unfortunately. But his brain was muddled, his eyes had trouble focusing at Magnum’s still form. A benefit for Magnum, making it easier to incapacitate him for good. A disadvantage, too, because he was that more unstable. An unintentional, wild bullet was equally damaging as those which weren’t. It was all about luck.

“Let her go, Henderson, you’re done,” Magnum said, loud enough to be sure he was heard. He was surprised by the force in his own voice. It had more anger than the pleading he had expected.

“No chance, she’s my ticket out of here,” Henderson replied, his speech only a little slurred. Magnum had definitely kicked some marbles loose, earlier.

“You’re not going anywhere with her, I won’t let you,” Magnum said. It was a promise to both Henderson and Higgins, whose eyes hadn’t left Magnum. “Let her go, before you end up with a bullet between your eyes,” he continued and slowly, confidently, raised his gun again. Higgins gave him a minute nod and steeled herself, ready for whatever was about to happen. She trusted him.

Henderson jerked both Higgins and the gun, and the second Magnum observed his fingers tighten on the trigger, the second Henderson let out a growling yell, the same second Higgins twisted away, Magnum pulled his trigger… and was suddenly falling backwards over the railing.


	16. Chapter 16

The unexpected fall had Magnum flailing his arms and legs. And connecting with something, or someone. The fall was only twenty feet, normally it would be piece of cake for a trained SEAL. The only thing softening his landing in the chilled water, was the body beneath him.

For the second time in five minutes, the air was chased from his lungs and his instincts took over as he clamped his mouth shut. He kicked, trying to find his bearings after the plunge into the water. He kicked again, following the bubbles to the surface.

Three additional kicks and he broke the wild surface, inhaling deeply and coughing and spluttering and inhaling again, before he was pulled under the water. He twisted around and located Reeves through the bubbles as a punch came his way.

He blocked it clumsily and returned a jab of his own. Somehow, in the dim water he caught a shiny glimpse of steel and brought up his legs to push Reeves away from him. The blade of the knife swooshed past him with a tail of bubbles and he desperately tried to get back up to the surface.

Reeves followed and managed to get a hold of his ankle and pull him down again. Magnum leaned in and grabbed the knife-wielding wrist and twisted the arm the wrong way. Reeves turned to relieve the pressure, but Magnum switched his focus point to wrap an arm around his neck and squeezed.

For that, he received an elbow to the stomach. At the same time, he felt something nip at the skin above his left hip, before Reeves reached back to claw at his face. A stream of bubbles raced to the surface when Reeves opened his mouth and convulsed. The water around them was turning red and cloudy and chummed with bubbles.

Reeves jerked, but Magnum squeezed more. He wasn’t even feeling sorry when he reached for the man’s chin and jerked it sideways. Reeves went limp and Magnum knew he needed to get to the surface. He knew he had to make sure Higgins was alright. But he didn’t have the energy. His vision was grainy and now his whole body was burning.

The saltwater stung the wounds on his head and wrists, but the pain above his hip and the one his thigh he wasn’t exactly sure where they came from. He was battered and bruised, of course, but this was on a whole new level. He released Reeves’s dead body and looked to the shimmering surface when his eyes finally closed and he let go of the last air in his lungs.

He hoped Higgins was alright. If she was alive, he didn’t care what happened to him.

Higgins spun away, when she heard the hammer click and a handful shots sounded simultaneously. Henderson jerked and fell to the floor, sandwiching her between him and the floor. She heard a couple of thumps above her, a grunt, a clatter, a yell from Rick and a splash.

Rick and Katsumoto had instantly caught on to Magnum’s plan and was ready to take out the shooters on the top level. They were so concentrated on their targets, they didn’t even see the shadow of a figure, literally crawling on the side of the yacht and reaching for Magnum.

Katsumoto would have thought Magnum had been shot if he had not seen the second figure. He moved quickly up the stairs, Rick right on his heels.

“I’ve got her! Go grab him!” he yelled to Rick and they parted at the head of the stairs. Katsumoto went right to help Higgins out from inert body of Henderson. The old man had acquired a third eye above the right one. Magnum was a damn good shot. “Higgins? Are you alright?” he asked when he rolled the body off her. No cuffs necessary, Henderson wasn’t getting up again.

“Getting there,” she grunted and accepted the detective’s hand. She looked around and spotted Rick at the same spot where Magnum had been just before. She felt her bones turn cold.

“Rick?” Katsumoto asked as both he and Higgins hustled over to join him. The majordomo was relying more on Katsumoto’s help than she would have liked.

“I can’t see him,” Rick replied. Higgins had never heard him sound so scared. Fear plastered onto her own face when a sharp light from the coast guard-vessel bathed the uneasy water in front of them. Silence followed in the short minutes.

“No,” she whispered, barely audible to the two men, but then T.C. yelled from behind the light.

“Over there!” he called and pointed. The three of them followed his direction and they spotted the inert body a bit further from the ship. Rick didn’t hesitate as he climbed the railing and jumped elegantly into the water, feet first. He popped up a few seconds later and started swimming towards the floating body. It was slow going and the waves around him was wearing him out quickly.

When he reached the body and flipped it, he let go of it immediately and looked around. If the body wasn’t Magnum, his friend would still be under the surface. He sucked in a deep breath and dove. Higgins and Katsumoto watched on, hoping, wishing, praying that two heads would reappear between the waves.

T.C. and two men in coast guard uniforms had boarded a smaller dinghy and was circling the brightly lit area, somewhat challenged by the waves. Finally, one of the men yelled and pointed to the outer edge of the light, some forty feet from the yacht. It didn’t take long before Magnum and Rick was hauled onboard and they were heading back to the coast guard-vessel.

Katsumoto and Higgins made their way down the stairs and hurried to board the other vessel. Higgins almost slipped into the water, when a particularly big wave moved both boats. Fortunately, the detective kept her on dry land. They reached the flat deck the second Magnum was hauled up and somewhat uncarefully dropped in a heap on the floor with T.C. and Rick on either side.

“Still no pulse,” Rick muttered and continued with the chest compressions. T.C. was pressing down hard on his side and leg. Katsumoto ordered one of the officers to call a med-evac. The other returned with an armful of towels and seconds later the first of them were stained red. Higgins dropped to her knees and gently patted Magnum on a cheek that was almost as pale as her hand. She was absolutely sure she heard a rib crack under Rick’s hands.

“Come on, Magnum, don’t do this,” she hissed at him, her voice thick with emotion. As if hearing her plea, Magnum spluttered and jerked and heaved all in one, and the people around him breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s it, Thomas, breathe,” she said, one hand on his shoulder, the other in his hair. Seconds passed before he opened his eyes and looked blearily at her, not seeing his other friends around him.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he rasped, repeating his promise from earlier and Higgins smiled warmly at him as his eyes closed again.

“Keep him talking, Higgy, he’s lost a lot of blood,” T.C. said and pressed harder on the wound in the side. Magnum groaned and opened his eyes. Higgins was sure he would have writhed under the pressure if he had the energy.

“Thomas, look at me,” she said quietly and his eyes slowly locked onto her. “You need to stay awake, alright,” she said and cupped his other cheek. A blanket was draped over his body and Higgins felt a thick blanket being wrapped around her shoulders. Magnum lifted his hand and grabbed her wrist lightly.

“It’s over, Juliet. You don’t have to be scared anymore,” he said quietly and squeezed her wrist gently. Emotions threatened to spill the tears from her eyes and she smiled vaguely.

“I know, Thomas, I know. Just keep your eyes open,” she said and gently patted him on the cheek when his eyes drifted closed again. “Come on, Magnum, stay with me,” she said more firmly and shook his shoulder. He opened his eyes, startled, confused.

“I’m tired,” he said and scrunched up his face when a wave of pain rolled over him, leaving him panting and with eyes squeezed shut. His hand around Higgins’s wrist tightened and she quickly replaced it with a hand. Her wrists were bruised enough already.

“Breathe, Magnum, just breathe through it,” she replied. It felt like a year before they finally heard the helicopter. Another year before Magnum drifted off to the sweet land of painkillers and was hurried to Tripler. Only then Higgins felt her body give out and she was only vaguely aware of T.C.’s arms catching her before she hit the floor.

Waking up wasn’t an exactly pleasant experience for Magnum. He felt the dulled, burning agony even through the painkillers. His head and wrists were only whispering at him, while his whole chest and abdomen and right thigh were screaming close to his ears. He groaned and moved his head away.

“Tommy-boy, hey, can you open your eyes for me?” Rick asked quietly and he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Rick was there, he thought with relief. Everything was alright.

“Come on, T.M., wake up,” T.C. said, equally quiet. Magnum moved his head again. Rick was there. T.C. was there. He didn’t question where ‘here’ was, or the how and why. But someone wasn’t there. Higgins wasn’t there. Higgins? Henderson! He took the shot. He didn’t know who he had hit. His eyes flew open and he weakly fought his friends to sit up. The pure agony had him almost passing out again.

“Juliet? Where is she? Is she alright?” he asked, his voice hoarse and the words jumbled. T.C. was carefully pinning his shoulder and arm to the bed. Rick was leaning his weight on the other shoulder.

“Juliet will be fine. She was discharged around noon, Kumu took her home. She’s fine, Thomas,” Rick said quietly and the two of them released their friend when he relaxed back into the pillows. Magnum held Rick’s gaze and nodded carefully, his eyes already drooping again.

“Good, she’s alright,” he mumbled and let out a tiny sigh. “That’s good,” he repeated, though it was barely audible, and fell asleep again.

The next time he woke up, was less stressful. He blinked his eyes open and looked intently at the ceiling, mentally doing a full body check. Sore ribs, tightness above his left hip, consistent with stitches. Likewise, on his right thigh. He already knew the wounds on his wrists were going to scar. The small puncture wound on his neck was almost not feelable, but he was pretty sure the dull thudding in his hairline was accompanied by some swelling and coloration.

The window had the blinds rolled down and a sliver of morning light was visible around the edges. Rustling from the corner begged for his attention. His eyes fell on Katsumoto as he rose from the chair and walked to the bed to perch on the edge.

“How long was I out?” Magnum asked and rubbed his eyes.

“Two days. How are you feeling?” the detective asked in return and Magnum shrugged.

“Like a piñata, but worse,” Magnum replied. “Henderson?” he asked and realized just now, that he didn’t know the ending.

“Bullet to the head. Brookes will probably never walk without a limp again. He will spend a long time in jail, along with Bates and Bishop. Farrington bled out on the yacht. Callaghan didn’t survive the surgery. Reeves’s body hasn’t been recovered yet. Personally, I blame the sharks,” Katsumoto said and continued. “Thanks to Bishop, two dozen people in India has been found and are currently being treated. They were held as guinea pigs for viruses and bacteria.” Magnum could only stare at him for a moment before he let out an exhausted sigh.

“How did you find us?” he asked after a beat of silence.

“Scott Campbell. I’m not sure on the details, but he took care of a lot of red tape,” the detective replied and Magnum smiled.

“How is Higgins doing?” he asked. That question had been on his mind since he opened his eyes. Katsumoto shrugged and Magnum stifled a yawn.

“Exhaustion, concussion, minor internal bleeding. Not enough to stop her from coming back here today,” Katsumoto said and looked at his watch. “They should be back any minute now,” he said and continued. “I told Rick and T.C. to go home sleep.”

“You’ve been here all night?” Magnum asked surprised and Katsumoto gave him half a smile, confirming the question. “Thank you, Katsumoto,” he continued and locked his bleary eyes onto the detective’s. “It means a lot,” he said honestly and the detective only brushed it off.

“Someone had to make sure you didn’t just leave,” he replied with a spark in his eyes. The real reason didn’t have to be put into words between them. “I’ll go get a doctor, before you fall asleep again,” Katsumoto said and quietly left the room.

A soft, chilled touch on his arm demanded his attention. He shifted quietly under the hand and turned his head in the same direction before he opened his eyes and saw Higgins. She was perched on the side of the bed, pale and bruised and still looked tired.

“Should you even be out of bed?” he asked her in way of greeting and the majordomo smiled vaguely.

“Probably not. How are you doing? And don’t say ‘fine’,” she said warningly, Magnum only huffed.

“I _will_ be fine,” he said seriously and continued. “Is that good enough?” he asked with a good-natured smile but Juliet only studied him more intently, her face sort of scrunched up.

“You were dead, Thomas. Clinically dead. Of course, it’s not good enough,” she replied sternly and scooted of the bed to pace at the end. Magnum watched her carefully for a moment before he gracelessly pushed himself up to a sitting position. Or tried to. In less than a cringe Higgins was already at his side, gently pushing him back down.

He hissed and closed his eyes when a wave of pain almost took both his breath and vision away. It was flowing out of his chest and the wound above his hip, hitting him in cascades. The soft, chilled touch was back on his arm and another grabbed a hold of his hand, fundamentally grounding him. Instantly, he was squeezing back, as if he could force the pain away like that.

“Deep breaths, Thomas, it will pass. Just breathe,” Higgins coaxed and moved the hand from his arm to follow the rhythm of his chest. She also emphasized her own breathing, so it gave Magnum a lead to follow. “That right, just breathe. Relax,” she said quietly, as the wave passed.

A couple of minutes passed by in silence, as Magnum systematically relaxed every part of his body and then opened his eyes to look straight at her. He wanted her to know just how serious he was about the next thing on his mind. He hadn’t really thought about it, but it felt right to share, wherever it might lead them. Higgins somehow noticed the change in his demeanor and retreated the hand from his chest as she leaned back a little, distancing herself.

“I promise you, Juliet, I’m going to be fine,” he said and held her gaze for a moment before his eyes changed ever so slightly to a different kind of pained. “Before I passed out in the water, I thought, as long as you’re alright, what happens to me is not important,” he said honestly. When she looked ready to yell at him again, he continued. “I know, it’s stupid, but you’re here… and I’m fine,” he said and downgraded a yawn to a sigh.

“How about you go back to sleep? We can sort that out later, when you’re back on your feet,” Higgins said and gave his hand another squeeze as Magnum nodded. It didn’t take him long before he had nodded off and Higgins brought a chair from the corner closer and kept watch over the private investigator.

She didn’t have long before Rick, T.C. and Katsumoto came back from their trip to the cafeteria and she was almost herded out of the hospital and into Katsumoto’s car. He had promised to drive her back home, so she could get back in bed – Kumu’s orders.


	17. Missing scene

The hospital was eerily quiet, this early after dawn. T.C. was lounging in those uncomfortable chairs, dozing restlessly, eyeing me every time I walked past him.

“You’re wearing a hole in the floor, Rick, will you please sit down before I make you?” he asked, his voice laden with irritation and worry. I huffed, sat down, and huffed again, before I jumped to my feet and continued pacing the length of four chairs. Every three steps I looked at the door, where the doctors would eventually walk through.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… I’m worried,” I explained for the umpteenth time. My clothes were still damp and my muscles were sore, to the point of aching, from my swim, but I was still too restless to sit down and wait. T.C. didn’t reply, only closed his eyes again. We had been running around most of the night, trying to find Thomas and Juliet. It had almost ended catastrophically, with our SEAL almost drowning. Not to mention the amount of worry Juliet had caused us, when she had collapsed.

It felt like ages, before we came back to shore and the EMT’s had rushed her into the ambulance. I barely had time to jump in and close the doors before we were moving. Juliet had been terrifyingly still through it all, but she had good breathing and almost a strong and steady pulse. Katsumoto and T.C. were right behind the ambulance when we got to the hospital. And now we had been delegated to waiting for the news of our friends.

Katsumoto rounded the corner with three cups of coffee stacked on top of each other. He hadn’t gone back, hadn’t left us with the excuse of having to deal with the case. He was just here, waiting just as much as T.C. and I, hoping for the good news. He handed me the cup from the bottom without a word and stuffed another into T.C.’s outstretched hand, before he sat down in the next chair.

I sipped at the strong coffee and eased into the empty chair next to Katsumoto. I was on the verge of coming with an encouraging comment, when the door opened and a doctor came out, eyes locating us in less than a second. The three of us stood as he walked over.

“Thomas Magnum and Juliet Higgins?” the doctor asked and all three of us nodded.

“How are they?” I asked. I could almost feel my heart beating way down in my stomach.

“Juliet will be fine. She’s got some minor internal damage, but it’s being controlled with medication. On top of that she’s got a concussion, luckily without structural damage and a lot of bruises. That, combined with the overall exhaustion caused her to collapse,” the doctor said and I felt the whole room brighten up.

“And Thomas?” T.C. asked, and immediately room darkened again, just a little.

“With a lot of rest, he’ll be fine. His heart only suffered minor trauma. The wounds didn’t cause any major damage except for the blood loss and like Juliet, he’s got a lot of bruising and a concussion,” the doctor explained and I breathed a sigh of relief. T.C. and Katsumoto had much the same reaction, I sensed. “They’ll be black and blue and sore all over for the next three weeks, I expect, but they’ll live,” he continued with a smile.

“Thank you, doctor,” Katsumoto mumbled an had the thoughtfulness to shake the good man’s hand.

“Can we see them?” I asked, ready to follow the doctor at his say so.

“They’re still unconscious, but I’ll have a nurse come get you when we’ve got them settled,” the doctor replied and excused himself when his pager beeped. He walked back through the doors and I felt T.C.’s hand on my shoulder.

“Now, sit down and wait patiently before I make you,” he said gently, repeating his comment from earlier. I landed in a chair with a mix of relief and exhaustion weighing me down and closed my eyes. I shuddered and let out the breath, I didn’t know I’d been holding, since I dived under the waves for Thomas’s lifeless body. I heard Katsumoto talking about making a call to exchange updates with someone, but I didn’t really care about it.

Next thing I knew, T.C. tapped me on the knee and I opened my eyes to see a nurse approach us from the same door. Katsumoto had temporarily disappeared out the door, I realized. The petite nurse was there to take us to our friends and explained, that we could sit with them as long as we didn’t disturb them.

She also explained that they were being kept in two different wards, so I locked eyes with T.C. swiftly and in that split second eye contact, we decided to split up.

“I’ll go sit with Jules,” T.C. offered and shortly after, I had draped my self into the utmost uncomfortable chair at Thomas’s bedside and looked at his pale form. It didn’t take long before I managed to fall asleep.


	18. Missing scene

Something woke me up. Not enough for me to move, or even care about it, but enough to make me fully aware of my surroundings. I heard feet shuffling and a door being closed. It was probably the opening of said door that had stirred me.

“How is she?”

I didn’t need more than a second to recognize the voice as Katsumoto. He must have come through the door. And he wasn’t asking me, so someone else would be in the room, keeping an eye on me. Kumu, Rick or T.C., I decided and my stomach dropped. If they were all here with me, it would mean no one was with Magnum. And there would only be one reason for that.

“Twitches now and then, but still out cold,” I heard T.C. say and wanted to answer for myself. It sounded as if he was close enough for me to reach him. It was a lot harder opening my eyes, than I thought it would be, so I ended up flapping my hand towards him instead. I felt the big, warm hands close around mine and he gently squeezed, but I couldn’t return the gesture. My body wouldn’t cooperate. I didn’t have the strength.

“’nuh,” I managed to croak out when my other hand was enveloped as well. Katsumoto, I decided. The detective was more kind, than he let on.

“Juliet?” he asked. Definitely worried, too.

“Easy now, Higgy Baby, take your time,” T.C. said calmly when I fought my eyes to open. The two faces above me were muddled and I blinked again to find T.C. smiling warmly at me. Katsumoto’s expression softened with relief.

“Ow,” I muttered and the two men chuckled quietly. My whole body was a dull thump and my headache was leading the band of drummers.

“You got that right, girl,” T.C. said with a smile and squeezed my hand again. I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering the strength.

“What happened?” I asked and cleared my throat. I’m surprised it was understandable, to me it sounded more like a moan from a dying cat.

“You passed out, when the med-evac took off,” Katsumoto explained.

“The doctor said it was the concussion and exhaustion that finally did it,” T.C. continued and I thought it sounded about right.

“And Thomas?” I asked. I knew it wouldn’t be entirely bad news, but it still churned my stomach to not know how he was.

“He’ll be fine,” the pilot answered and I turned to look at the detective with a grimace, I hoped would be interpreted as a smile.

“We probably wouldn’t be, had you guys not arrived when you did,” I said quietly and made sure they knew I was serious as I looked between them. Their solemn nods told me they understood and I closed my eyes for a brief moment again. “What happens next?” I asked, my jumbled mind going back to Henderson and the crimes, him and his lackeys, had committed.

“Five-0 took over the case and they’ve got one of the guys spilling the beans already; Jonathan Bishop. He blames you for crushing his chances of having kids,” the detective said with a small grin and I smiled.

“Serves him right, that prick,” I agreed without hesitation. “Have they found out what happened to Tobias?” I asked, realizing I needed closure on that subject. Katsumoto shook his head and shrugged.

“Not yet, but I know the guys on Five-0. They’ll figure it out. Right now, they’re focusing on the medical part of the investigation. Something about locating test subject and track down buyers,” Katsumoto said as the fatigue begged me to slip back into unconsciousness.

“You can relax, Juliet,” the detective said, far away and T.C. continued, equally distant.

“We’ve got you, girl.” Those words were enough for me to let go of the reins and fall asleep. I felt safe and protected. Everything was going to be alright. Magnum would recover. I was already on the mend. The boys were here. The bad guys were dead or in jail. Everything was good. Thomas was not dead. Those were my last thoughts before the deep sleep wrapped itself around me and I saw nothing but darkness.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been another couple of days before the doctors were satisfied with Magnum’s health and let him go home, under strict supervision, of course, and no strenuous activities. Nine days had passed since the private investigator had been woken up by the dogs in the middle of the night. He had spent half of those in the hospital, going stir-crazy and had, unsuccessfully, begged all his visitors to smuggle him out of said godforsaken place, at least once.

Higgins had come to visit at least twice, every day. Rick and T.C. had worked out a shift change, so he’d never been alone. Katsumoto had dropped by occasionally, keeping him updated on Five-0’s progress. He had not yet inserted himself in the investigation, much to Magnum’s confusion.

Kumu had been there a few times, claiming that, taking care of Higgins was equivalent of a marathon. That poor woman can’t take a break from work, she expressed several times. She dutifully took her medicine and, probably, got a lot of sleep, but when she was awake, she was in the study, working on the computer or doing menial tasks around the property.

“Higgins suggested that you stay in the main house for a while,” Rick said on the way home. Magnum had been carefully guided into the silver sportscar upon his release. He nodded absentmindedly, looking out the window.

“Yeah, she mentioned it yesterday,” Magnum agreed and leaned back. Every time the majordomo had visited, she had kept it short, excusing herself with work, that needed to be done. He hadn’t had the chance to really talk with her and he was surprised to find it bothered him. It also scared him, that she had intentionally put some distance between them. The ‘what-if’s had haunted him at night and tormented him through the days.

“You alright there, buddy?” Rick asked with a gentle hand on the shoulder of the private investigator. Magnum shrugged halfheartedly.

“I’m worried about her,” he said. “She hasn’t been herself,” he explained and looked to his friend.

“She’s been through a lot. And so have you,” Rick replied and focused his eyes on the road again. “It changes you, man. You know that,” he continued, referring to their time spent in the Korengal Valley. His voice got a little quieter, more emotions shining through. “We might look the same, we might sound the same, but we all have that shadow behind us, with all the memories,” he said and cleared his throat. “You and Juliet have a new shadow now. It’s only yours,” he said encouragingly. Magnum looked at him, suspiciously.

“How did you become so knowledgeable?” Magnum asked with a little smile and Rick huffed.

“I read a book,” he joked back and the two exchanged a look and laughed for a moment. Magnum brought a hand to his side when his chuckles pulled at the stitches and he groaned. “Take it easy, man, I don’t want you leaking all over the upholstery,” he warned with a smile. “Joke aside; T.C. and I have both tried to talk to her,” he said and shrugged hesitantly.

“And?” Magnum asked, attention and worry neatly folded into a single three-letter word.

“Well, she appreciated the offer but hasn’t brought it up since. I’m sure she just needs time. She’s probably just guarded, because she’s been all by herself for so long in contrast to you, me and T.C.,” Rick explained and Magnum looked out the window again, contemplating.

“You think she’ll be alright?” Magnum asked and thought about Kumu’s obvious worry of the majordomo. Rick sighed in defeat.

“I don’t know, Thomas. We kind of hoped she would talk to you,” he said when he slowed to turn up the driveway to the Nest. The rest of the trip was quiet and it didn’t take long for them to park outside the front door to the main house. Rick helped Magnum out the car and hovered right behind him, when walking to the door as it opened. Higgins stepped out through the door, with her arms crossed and the dogs right behind her. She was less pale, but more bruised and, if possible, looked even more tired.

“I thought, the doctor told you to use the crutches, until your leg has healed?” she asked and somehow made it sound like a reprimand at the same time. Magnum hobbled on with a huge smile.

“Nice to see you, too, Higgy, it’s good to be home,” he said and the look on her face softened and she looked to Rick, who shrugged, helplessly.

“He flat out refused to be seen with those _horrible sticks of death_. He’s somehow convinced, that he would end up with a broken leg, if he even touched them,” Rick explained and Higgins smiled.

“Afraid of crutches, Magnum? Who would have thought?” she said and invited them inside with a movement of the arm. The dogs moved back, obediently.

“I’m not afraid, I just have a healthy amount of dislike for them,” Magnum explained and hobbled past her, eyeing the Dobermans wearily as he made his way to the sitting area. Rick paused briefly behind him and smiled to Higgins.

“Yup, he’s afraid of crutches,” he whispered and continued.

“I heard that, _Orville_ ,” Magnum called back over his shoulder and awkwardly sunk into the corner of the couch in the sitting room. The short walk had left him exhausted and slightly out of breath with small twinges of pain radiating through him. He closed his eyes for a moment and could hear Rick and Higgins conversing just out of earshot.

“I have to go, Thomas. T.C. will stop by later,” Rick called to him and Magnum only raised a hand in an ambiguous wave. Seconds later, he heard the door close and it was blissfully quiet. Even the hospital had some kind of background noise. The silence was wonderfully cool to his head.

The cushion dipped beside him and he opened his eyes to look at Higgins.

“Here,” she said and handed him two pills. He eyed them with skepticism and she huffed. “They’re for your pain, Magnum, you are not that good at hiding it,” she explained and he reluctantly accepted them and the bottle of water. He made quick work of downing the two pills with a mouthful of water.

“Thanks,” he said and Higgins smiled warmly.

“I’ve prepared one of the guestrooms for you. You can stay there as long as necessary,” she said promptly and got to her feet.

“Higgins,” Magnum said and she turned around to look at him, questioningly. “How are you doing?” he asked and she gave him a little smile.

“I’ll be right as rain in no time, don’t worry about me,” she replied and Magnum nodded pensively. She crossed her arms when she studied his face. “What?” she asked, suddenly sounding more defensive. Hesitating. Anxious.

“Do you get enough sleep?” he asked honestly and Higgins just stared at him for a moment, confused by the unexpected comment. Magnum leaned forward with a cringe and studied her closely. After a minute of internal discussion, she let her arms drop with a sigh.

“No,” she replied and suddenly looked more fragile, than Magnum had ever seen her before. He felt his stomach drop and he tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her, hopefully. She hesitated and sighed again before she moved back to the couch and sat down carefully. When she didn’t say anything right away, Magnum continued. “We’re all worried about you, Juliet,” he said, hoping she would actually open up.

“You were dead, Magnum, I’m sorry if it takes a little while to process that,” she commented scathingly and looked down at her hands on her knees. She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept her mouth shut. Magnum was a little surprised about the topic she had blurted out, initially he would have thought it was the physical and emotional punishment she had endured through Henderson and his lackeys that were tormenting her.

“But I didn’t,” he said quietly and Higgins continued, her eyes locking on to his.

“What happens to you _is_ important,” she said, referring to his own words, days earlier. Magnum cringed.

“Is that what’s got you out of sorts?” he asked tentatively. He had to choose his next words carefully.

“Your total disregard for your own well-being? Yes, among other things,” she confirmed with a tight nod.

“Among other things,” he parroted under his breath and received a glare from the majordomo. “I’m sorry. I will try to do better,” he promised and Higgins nodded a brief thanks.

“That’s all can I ask,” she said and hesitated. “I don’t think, I could go through another funeral for a good man,” she admitted with a tiny, sheepish smile.

“I mean it, Juliet. You shouldn’t have to,” Magnum said and tenuously reached for her hand to convey his message. It was even more chilled that he remembered. “Go to bed. Try to get some sleep,” he said and tightened his grip for a second.

Hours later he had settled himself into his temporary bed, just across the hall from Higgins’ room. T.C. had, as promised, been there and had almost hovered to fluff his pillows. Begrudgingly, he admitted, he had needed the help to pull off his shirt and at one point he had fallen clumsily into T.C.’s arms, when his hurting leg gave out. Now, he was staring at the ceiling, a cool breeze hanging in the air, going through everything that had happened the last ten days.

Falling asleep proved harder than he’d thought and when he finally gave up and threw the covers off of him, he sighed deeply and sat up, before heaving himself to his feet and limping to the door. It only took about five minutes for him to fight his way to the kitchen and retrieve a bottle of water from the fridge. As he uncapped it and raised it to his lips a faint sound caught his attention and he froze, bottle halfway in the air. He hadn’t needed to turn on any lights, for which he was grateful now.

He looked to the doors alternately and then through the windows out in the moonlit dark. Movement from the door had him turning back to see the two intimidating shapes looming in the dark, eyes zeroed in on him and heads tilted.

“Good boys,” Magnum said, hesitant, but relaxing. They belonged, there was no outside threat. Getting back to the room suddenly looked more dangerous – an obstacle course in the dark, while chased by two hellhounds, and even being disabled. It wasn’t good odds, Magnum decided. The two dogs quietly stepped closer, not removing their eyes from their prey.

“Zeus, Apollo, come on, guys, I’m in no shape to be chased around,” he tried to reason with them. One of the dogs promptly sat down while the other walked closer, inquisitively. Magnum carefully reached forward, surprised by the dogs and their gentle approach. The dog, Zeus, he vaguely decided, sniffed at his hand and then proceeded to nozzle under his fingers and sit down right next to his foot.

Magnum carefully stroked the dog’s head and scratched him behind the ears. He was just about to praise them for not eating him, when something caught the attention of the two dogs and their heads swiveled towards the bedrooms. Magnum looked to see if there was anything hiding in the corners but saw nothing. A second later he heard something and the two dogs trotted off to investigate.

Magnum followed, though he kept a slower pace and saw the two dogs where nuzzling and scratching at the door to Higgins’ bedroom. Clearly, something was wrong, he determined and limped closer.

“Zeus, Apollo, move aside,” he said and to his surprise they both backed up. Another vague sound had them sitting attentively and a quiet whine from Apollo urged Magnum to open the door. “Higgins?” he asked into the dark before he carefully walked inside. The bed was a mess, sheets and pillows all over and a fragile-looking Higgins in the middle of the bed, fighting something unseen. The sheets were wrapped around her legs and her arms and head were tossing.

“Higgins?” he called again but stepped closer when nothing changed. “Juliet, come on, open your eyes,” he said and eased himself down on the side of the bed. He didn’t want to restrain her, partly for his own safety and partly because it would most probably frighten her even more, but he knew he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Trying to be the least invasive, he grabbed her floundering hand and held on tight as he spoke.

“Juliet, you’re having a nightmare. Everything’s alright, you just have to open your eyes. Come on, you are safe. Open your eyes for me, Juliet, it’s just a nightmare, everything is alright,” he coaxed firmly and proceeded to brush errant strands of hair from her face. Finally, her movements stopped and she opened her eyes, searching the room and, lastly, landing on Magnum.

“Thomas?” she whispered, slightly out of breath and sat up straight. Her voice betraying her and conveying how scared she had just been. Magnum found her other hand and held on tight to her.

“Easy, now, everything’s alright,” he repeated from his previous chant, as he felt the tremors going through her hands. She breathed deeply, trying to regain control, but seemingly losing the battle.

“It was awful. It hasn’t been that bad before,” she confessed with a shaky breath.

“Hey, it wasn’t real, you can relax,” he said and considered his options before he continued. “Come here,” he said and placed her hands around his neck and then proceeded to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer, when she didn’t object. It didn’t take long for her to bury her head in his shoulder and hold on for dear life as the tiny sobs evolved and he could feel warm tears running down his chest.

This tiny bit of vulnerability would never be mentioned to anyone outside the room. They didn’t move for minutes and only when Higgins pulled away and swiped at her tear-stained cheeks in the dark, Magnum gave her the space she needed, but didn’t break the connection completely as he moved a hand to rest on her knee.

“I’m sorry,” the majordomo croaked and Magnum shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, Juliet,” he only replied and gave her knee a light squeeze. “Are you alright?” he asked and saw her nod in the dark room.

“Yes,” she said confidently and let out a deep sigh. “Thank you, Thomas,” she continued, a bit more hesitant.

“Anything for you, Juliet,” he only replied and smiled warmly, though he wasn’t sure if she could see it in the dark. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, expecting her to flat out refuse his offer and promptly let him leave.

“I’m… it’s… I don’t know…” she said and took another deep breath to steady herself. Magnum gave her knee another squeeze and moved to his feet.

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to. Just know that I’m here, if you need it,” he said as he picked up the discarded pillows and dropped them behind the majordomo. Next, he unwrapped the sheets and shook them out as she scooted back against the pillows, her knees drawn up.

“Thomas?” she asked, before he walked towards the door. “Don’t go,” she said and he briefly looked at the door before turning around and limping back to the bed. She didn’t have to say more than that.

“Scoot over,” he said and levered himself onto the bed and got comfortable. “And don’t you dare trying to hog the sheets,” he said, jokingly, and smiled when he heard her chuckle. They were silent for a while, keeping a decent distance between them. Magnum was back to starring at the ceiling, but now he was on the brink of sleep.

“My nightmare…” Higgins finally said and Magnum turned his face towards her, silently prompting her to go on. “I couldn’t keep you from dying. Over and over again,” she continued and Magnum raised himself up on one elbow, not quite knowing what to say to that.

“You’re here. I’m here,” he started out seriously, but then smiled. “And I had never thought we would end up sharing a bed,” he said and smiled when Higgins let out a resigned breath, clearly regretting opening up to the private investigator. “I’m kidding, I’m sorry,” he said quickly and flopped back down on the pillow. “Thank you for telling me, Juliet,” he said quietly, appreciating her honesty. “It must’ve been scary,” he said. He knew it would have been for him.

“Yeah,” she just whispered and turned on her side to face him. “Thank you for staying,” she said and he looked at her through the dark.

“Always,” he said and found her hand between them. It didn’t take long for either of them to fall asleep after that.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Magnum woke up with the sun and a soundly sleeping Higgins nestled at his side. Her features had softened and she was completely relaxed, as if she had melted against his side. She wasn’t too cold anymore, but not warm either. Her fingers were splayed on his abdomen, twitching every now and then. He stayed absolutely still; she needed the sleep.

A lock of blonde hair was brushing against his shoulder and had briefly distracted him from the thumping pain in his bad leg, which was the reason for his current predicament. He hadn’t moved much through the night and felt stiff and achy all over his body as he unwound his arm from underneath the sleeping beauty of Juliet Higgins and padded out of the room with silent hisses of pain every other step.

Luckily, Higgins didn’t stir, he thought as he fetched a t-shirt and made his way to locate the painkillers he’d been given. He hadn’t made it more than five steps, before Zeus and Apollo bounded around the corner and stopped dead in their tracks. Their appearance only made his heart beat faster and consequently hurried the pain in his leg.

“You two are going to be the death of me, one day,” he muttered under his breath after he sighed. The dogs just sat down and watched him with tilted heads as he hobbled along. They followed him to the kitchen where he downed two pills, put on the coffee and levered himself into a chair.

“Why don’t you two go out and chase some innocent squirrel?” he asked with a sigh when Zeus sat down next to the chair and gently rested his head on the faded old board shorts. Luckily, the dog chose the good leg. It took a couple of minutes for the medicine to kick in, so Magnum sat quietly and scratched the dog behind the ears. When he moved to stand the two dogs jumped around playfully.

“Alright, you mutts need to get outside and run off all that energy,” the private investigator said and soon after all three of them were moving towards the beach. Magnum hobbled along, while the dogs ran in circles around him, chasing birds and each other. His thoughts wandered back to the night before, and how much it had felt like home to sleep right next to Higgins. Hawaii had always been great, but last night was a whole new, and very welcome feeling.

He was sure, however, it was just a one-time thing that would never be spoken about ever again. As he reached the sand he stepped into the calm water and let the water lap around his ankles for minutes. The sun was already warming him up, despite the early hour. The dogs were standing in the sand, waiting for him to move. Apparently, he two dogs despised swimming as much as their owner. Magnum walked back on dry land and headed for the lawn chairs looking out over the ocean.

“How are you feeling, Tommy-boy? Got some new friends?” T.C. asked sometime later as he sat down in the other chair. Magnum shrugged and sighed.

“Been better,” he said. “Also been worse.” He looked to the two dogs, still running around and digging holes in the sand. “I don’t know what I did, but they followed me down here and I’m still alive, so I guess I’m not their dinner anymore,” the injured man said.

“Yeah, Higgy was surprised, too. She looks a lot better than the last few days. I take it the two of you talked yesterday?” T.C. asked, probably having been updated by Rick. Magnum nodded with a small smile. The majordomo was already up and roaming the main house. On top of that, she had observed him and the dogs as they walked to the beach. And yet, she still hadn’t hurried down to reprimand him about proper wound care and behavior after bad injuries.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be alright,” he said, although a bit hesitant now. “Help me up, T.C.?” he asked and was gently hoisted to his feet. The two dogs came bounding back to them, Zeus sneaking under Magnum’s hand as the two men started walking slowly back to the house.

“I spoke with Katsumoto this morning. He’s coming by this afternoon to update the two of you on the case,” T.C. said as they reached the main house. Magnum had only gotten small bits of information about the case in his time at the hospital, so he welcomed any updates with open arms.

“Good. On that note, don’t you think it’s about time we got together for a good old movie night?” Magnum asked, feeling the sudden need to have all his friends close to him again.

“Are you sure, T.M.?” the pilot asked, a bit skeptic and Magnum nodded. “Alright, I’ll set it up. Rick and I will take care of everything. I’ll see you tonight,” T.C. said and left him alone back in the kitchen. Magnum retrieved two mugs and filled them with the fresh coffee.

“Come on, lads, find Higgins,” he said and followed the two Dobermans. Surely, they led him to the study. “Good morning, Higgy,” he said as he carefully limped another step, trying not to spill the coffee.

“Do you need a hand with that?” she asked when she saw the concentration on his face. Without waiting for an answer, she placed the two mugs on the desk and guided Magnum to the chair across from the desk.

“Just so you know, I had it covered,” he said with a grimace and rubbed his injured leg.

“Yeah, I saw that. I just didn’t want to take the chance, that you might spill those precious drops. And God forbid, if you spilled on the priceless Persian carpet,” she retorted and sat back down to nurse one of the mugs. They were both quiet for a moment, not sure where to start after last night.

“How are you doing?” Magnum finally asked. Higgins paused and leaned back in her chair as he looked at him.

“Better,” she said and briefly averted her gaze from Magnum. “You?” she asked and took a sip.

“Just fine,” the private investigator replied with a shrug. “T.C. says Katsumoto has an update,” he continued and Higgins nodded.

“Yes, apparently Five-0 has almost closed the case,” the majordomo agreed with a light smile.

“Aw, come on, I would have solved it, too,” Magnum said, grinning.

“Of course, you would,” Higgins said. “It was kind of unfair, that your investigation was interrupted by the bad guy kidnapping you. How rude of him,” she continued and returned to work on her laptop with an amused twitch on her lips.

“Very rude,” Magnum repeated and they fell back into silence for a few minutes. The silence was some kind of tense, without it being uncomfortable. He could almost feel how she wanted to talk, so he sat quietly and waited.

“I see the lads have changed their minds about you,” Higgins said and Magnum huffed when the two dogs lifted their heads.

“Oh, please. As soon as I can move without falling flat on my face, they’ll be back to chasing me,” he replied and the quiet filled the room again. He was aware of her eyes finding him every few seconds.

“Listen, Magnum, about last night,” she started and halted. She hesitated before starting again. “I appreciate your understanding and it really helped me to sleep better that you stayed, but…” she paused again and this time Magnum jumped in.

“I get it, you don’t want to become dependent on me to get a good night’s sleep. This was just a… reboot of your sleeping pattern,” he said, carefully suggesting the explanation, though it stung a little in his stomach.

“Exactly, anything more than that and people would begin to assume things about us. Together, I mean,” Higgins said, obvious relief plastered on her face.

“And we definitely wouldn’t want that,” Magnum agreed and downed the rest of his coffee.

“So, they got everybody overseas connected to Henderson round up in local police custody and all the victims are being treated,” Magnum clarified after Katsumoto’s lengthy description of the case.

“Yes, and the remaining henchmen are going to jail. They claim that Tobias’s body was dissolved in chemicals and there’s nothing left of him. They’re also saying that any killing was done by none other than Luke Reeves and Curtis Henderson, himself,” Katsumoto confirmed and closed the manila folder with a firm hand. Never to be opened again. Magnum wasn’t one to celebrate death, but those two men had definitely deserved it. Glancing at Higgins and Katsumoto, he wasn’t the only one to feel that way.

“Robin’s on the mend, also. His agent says he’s awake and already talking about a new book,” Higgins chimed in with a warmer smile as they heard the front door open.

“Nothing slows him down,” Magnum confirmed with a smile.

“Who’s ready for a rom-com-marathon with the best pizza on the island and a fridge full of ice-cold beer?” Rick called out, before he rounded the corner, arms full of provisions for the night. Katsumoto grabbed half of it before Rick continued towards the fridge.

“Yes, please, hand me a cold one,” Magnum said and was instantly scolded with a handful of death stares. “Come on, just a sip,” he tried to no avail.

“Sorry, buddy, but you and Higgy-baby are still on the strong stuff. No beers for you,” T.C. said, when he came around the corner with a stack of pizza-boxes. “Kumu’s got you covered, though,” the pilot said, as he placed the boxes on the table. Kumu came in last with beverages for the two injured people and the entertainment for the night.

“Fine, but then we get to choose the first movie,” Magnum sighed with a sulking expression that gained a chuckle from all the people around him as Kumu handed him a nonalcoholic drink.

Magnum and Higgins were the first to drift off, only halfway into the second movie. The two of them had occupied a corner of the couch since bathroom break between the movies and looked very comfortable. Magnum’s bad leg were propped on a pillow on the table, with Higgins snuggled up in the corner, feet dangling over the armrest and head resting on Magnum’s shoulder. His arm was draped over her waist and even their breathing seemed to be synchronized. The dogs were sprawled on the floor beneath them. T.C. was the first to spot that both of them had dozed of and elbowed Rick, who in turn tapped Kumu on the arm. It even caught the attention of Katsumoto and the four of them looked around, all smiles and silent giggles.

No words needed to be exchanged, they all knew their two friends would turn out fairly alright as long as they had each other to lean on.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work ever - ideas came to me early in season one and writing began just after the midseason finale. The titles of my works might seem connected, but they're all stand-alone. Enjoy.  
> Let me know, if you have any request for future works - I'm fairly openminded.  
> /kwueenie.


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